Cosmos
by xorahxo
Summary: Aiichirou Nitori has always been a lover of flowers and plants so working at a flower shop was definitely an ideal job for him. When a slow and quiet day at the shop brings in two new customers, Nitori finds himself drawn to the one with red hair. After Ai helps him pick out flowers for his father's grave, the two find themselves quickly falling in love. (rating will change)
1. Meeting

Aiichirou sighed, his sliver bangs falling in front of his eyes. The day was unusually slow for the popular flower shop, Tachibana's Flowers, a flower shop owned by his good friend's parents. It was spring, so the store was stocked to the brim with beautifully bloomed flowers. At this time of day, the store was usually packed with teenagers, adults, and the elderly, all trying to purchase the right type of flower for a loved one, friend, or the deceased.

Ai cringed. He hated to think that customers were there to buy flowers for a lost one's grave; it made him sad, though working at his friend's flower shop always cheered him up because of his strong love for flowers and gardening. He would always help out his mother in their garden when he was a child before she passed away. For a few years of his life he was disinteresting in gardening but upon returning from school one day, he noticed the garden was dead and wilted. He started to walk toward his front door but he recalled how much he loved it and how much his mother loved it as well, he knew it would make her sad that their beloved garden was gone so the boy returned to tending to the small garden that held so many precious memories. That's when he decided he would study plants and plant life in college.

"Nitori!" his boss and good friend, Makoto Tachibana, called out from the back. "Can you come help me carry these roses?"

"Ah, yeah!" Ai called back.

The silver haired boy hopped out of the stool he was sitting in and hurried to the back to help his friend. He arrived just in time to catch the other end of the bright red, pink, and white roses that almost dropped to the floor. Makoto let out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks a bunch, Nitori. Nagisa was supposed to work today but he called last minute and said something came up so he had to take the day off. He sounded serious so I let him take the day off. Looking back it wasn't really a bad idea because it's a slow day today," Makoto commented, looking around the empty shop.

Nitori nodded. "Maybe because its spring break and a lot of the people who usually come by are on vacation or something. Your shop is the only one in town so it's not like they're going somewhere else unless they're leaving the town which would be ridiculous."

Makoto chuckled and smiled softly at his friend. "Yeah, that's true. Thanks Nitori," the tall brunet replied.

The silver boy returned Makoto's smile and helped him carry the heavy box of flowers to the rose table. He almost dropped his side of the box when the bell jingled, alerting them they had a new customer.

Ai apologized to Makoto and hurried to the register. He glanced at the two who had walked in the store. They were both males and they looked around Makoto's age. The taller male had longish red hair, most covered with a black beanie, and a multitude of ear piercings (Nitori counted four on the ear that was visible to him). He put his arms, which were covered in different tattoos, behind his head and turned slightly so Ai could see his face. He noticed a lip ring near the left corner of his mouth. The redhead was wear a large red and black flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up slightly over a white shirt and black jeans paired with black Vans. He looked angry and tense.

His friend on the other hand looked a lot more relaxed, and slightly annoyed by his loud friend. He had short black hair and crystal blue eyes. He had on a plain yellow t-shirt paired with light blue skinny jeans and white converse. Aiichirou noticed little black studs in his ears.

The silver haired boy took out his phone to try to ignore the redhead's loud voice but it didn't work. He watched Makoto duck out of the store to rearrange the display out front.

"Rin, don't complain to me about wanting to leave. You asked me to come with you in the first place," the shorter sighed.

The redhead, named Rin, turned to his friend with a glare. "Be quiet, Haru, you know I don't like doing this," he snapped.

Haru rolled his eyes. "Well if you want to leave so bad then pick out some flowers. Do you have any in mind?" he asked, and Ai could tell that he was trying to keep himself calm.

Rin glared at him. "How should I know? He's dead!"

Nitori flinched. Haru glared back. He looked over his shoulder and at Makoto who was arranging the tulips outside. "I'll be waiting outside. And seriously, learn how to behave in public please."

The black haired male walked out of the shop. He stood against the glass next to the entrance with his arms crossed. Nitori watched as Makoto struck up a conversation with him. Nitori let out a breath and rested his chin on his hand, quietly observing the angry redhead who was mumbling to himself as he walked through the rows of flowers.

"Hey, you!" His loud voice snapped Ai out of his daze.

The silver jumped, knocking his phone off of the counter in the process. "Y-yes?" he replied hastily. He looked up to meet the customer's eyes. His breath caught. Rin's eyes were a color he'd never seen before; a deep reddish purplish color. He noticed he had four identical piercings on the ear that previously wasn't visible.

"You work here, right?" Rin demanded.

Nitori shrunk a bit. He nodded.

"I need help. I'm going to visit my father's grave and my sister usually buys flowers so I don't have the slightest clue on what's best. Can you help?" Probably noticing the boy's nervousness and discomfort, Rin's expression and voice softened.

Nitori relaxed at the redhead's soft voice. He smiled brightly, causing a slight pink to dust the older boy's cheeks. He walked out from behind the counter and led Rin to the tulip section.

"From experience, I usually see a lot of people buy white flowers. I'm not particularly sure why, maybe because something too bright would be offensive. I usually get pink flowers for my mother's grave," he said with a sad smile. He clasped his hands together. "Anyway, I'd say something white or a light color would be your best pick. The type of flower doesn't matter, well in my opinion."

Rin nodded. He reached for a bouquet of white tulips. "Then I'll take these," he said.

Nitori nodded and led the redhead back to the counter to ring him up. After scanning the item, Nitori glanced at the price. "Your total is $14.99," the boy said.

Rin handed him a twenty dollar bill. Ai opened the cash register and began to count his change amount.

"Nah," Rin said, stopping Ai in his tracks, "keep the change. I don't need it."

Nitori nodded with a dark blush on his cheeks. "O-okay. Thank you."

Rin nodded is response. "Hey," he asked, "what's your name?"

Nitori looked up after he was done collecting the change. "O-oh, I'm Aiichirou Nitori. But either is fine, so is Ai."

"I'm Rin. Rin Matsuoka."

Nitori chuckled. "Yeah, I heard earlier."

Rin looked down, blushing slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ha…sorry about that. I was just in a bad mood because my sister decided a date was more important than visiting our dad's grave."

Nitori didn't know how to reply so he averted his eyes. Rin grabbed the bouquet off the counter. Nitori looked up.

"Anyway, thanks, Ai," Rin smiled. Nitori felt his heart race. "See you 'round."

Nitori blushed. "Y-yeah," he replied, watching Rin retreat back to the front of the store. He walked out the door and had to physically move Haru to get him to stop talking to Makoto. Haru blushed and Makoto chuckled, waving to the pair as they walked away. Makoto reentered the store.

"He looks like he's in a better mood," Makoto commented. "You did well, Nitori."

Nitori's already red face turned a darker shade of red. "You looked like you were having a good time outside with Haru," he said.

Makoto smiled. "Yeah. We talked a lot before he asked me out. I'll be leaving early from work tomorrow so hopefully Nagisa is back or it's not too busy."

Nitori smiled. "That's nice."

Makoto looked down at his friend. "You looked like you were having fun with Rin after he calmed down. You like him?"

Nitori's blush returned. He never took Makoto as the type to ask these things; it was always Nagisa, and sometimes Momotarou.

"W-well, I-I…I mean he's c-cute b-but…kinda of intimidating but…m-maybe a little bit," Ai replied with effort.

"If it makes you feel any better I heard him call you cute while he was leaving with Haru," Makoto said with a slight smirk as he retreated to the back of the store, leaving Nitori mouth open and blushing.

"Y-you're lying!" he shouted.

He heard a chuckle come from the back. "Like I would lie about something like that."

Nitori pressed his hands against his hot cheeks, trying to stop the blushing. He looked around for his phone, remembering that he knocked it off the counter. He bent down to grab his cell phone. Ai turned it over and notice a small crack in the bottom left corner; nothing worth paying to get it fixed.

The silver haired boy glanced at the clock behind him. His shift ended in thirty minutes. Makoto stuck his head through the doorway.

"Ah, Nitori, you can go home. If anyone comes by, I can handle it myself. Thanks for your hard work. And ask Nagisa what was so important that he had to take off work, please."

Ai nodded and untied the knot on the back of his apron. He pulled it over his head and hung it up on this hook behind the counter. He stuffed his phone in his pocket and said goodbye to Makoto.

The nineteen year old walked out of the shop and in the direction of his shared apartment with this close friend Nagisa Hazuki. It was a short walk from both the shop and the university he and Nagisa attended along with Makoto.

He arrived at the building and hurried inside. The boy walked over to the elevator and pressed the 'up' button. The elevator arrived and Aiichirou stepped in, holding the door for an elderly woman who bowed in thanks. Ai smiled in return. He pressed the button for his floor along with the old woman's floor.

The woman's floor arrived first. She thanked the silver haired boy and hobbled off. Nitori sighed and watched the elevator doors close. After going up two more floors, Nitori arrived on the fifth floor. He walked down the hall until he arrived at his room; the very last one on the floor with no rooms in front or next to it for some reason.

Ai unlocked the door and walked inside after letting out a breath. He was immediately greeted by his hyperactive roommate.

Nagisa jumped up from the couch and tackled Nitori.

"Ai-chan!" he exclaimed, releasing the silver haired boy from his grasp. "How was work today?"

"Uneventful," Nitori responded, glancing at his blonde roomie. "Speaking of," he began, "why weren't you there today?"

Nagisa averted his gaze and laughed, waving his hand. "I-it's nothing. Something came up and I _had_ to go today."

"What came up?" Ai pressed.

Nagisa whined, "Ai-chan…"

Nitori narrowed his blue eyes at the boy. Nagisa avoided making eye contact again and he stood up from the floor. He walked back to the couch and dropped down, face pressed into a pillow.

"C'mon. I won't tell Makoto," Ai said.

Nagisa peeked out from the pillow. "Promise?" he asked, sitting up. He placed the pillow in his lap and tugged at the strings of his hoodie, which, now that Nitori got a good look of the magenta eyed boy, looked a little too big for him.

"I promise," Ai responded.

Nagisa took a deep breath. "Okay. The reason I called in and said I couldn't go to work today is because I got asked out on a date." Nitori rolled his eyes and Nagisa waved his hands in front of his. "Don't do that, Ai-chan! The only reason that I said something important came up is because it _was _important! He couldn't go any other day during spring break because he has to do a bunch of work over spring break! Please, Ai-chan, don't get mad, I've been crushing on this guy for _ages_. He's the one I'm always talking about!"

Nitori chuckled. "I'm not mad at you, Nagisa," he said. "But you better come to work tomorrow. Makoto's going to be leaving early tomorrow."

Nagisa tilted his head. "Why?"

"These two guys came by the shop today to buy flowers and one of them was being really loud and annoying and kind of mean so Makoto went outside and then his friend went outside and Makoto started talking to him and he got asked out so he's leaving early tomorrow to go on a date. But at least he's coming to work."

Nagisa pouted for a second before smiling. "That's great for Mako-chan!" he said excitedly. "But that means you had to deal with the mean customer. Were you okay?"

Nitori blushed and looked away. "Y-yeah, he was fine after he calmed down. U-uh, he was nice," he stammered.

Nagisa giggled and leaned forward. "Was he cute?" he asked with a smirk.

Ai's blush darkened. The blue eyed boy pressed his hands against his cheeks again. He nodded quickly. Nagisa threw his hands up in the air, a big grin on his face.

"If he comes back you need to point him out to me. I'm curious to see what this guy looks like."

* * *

**i've been working on this fic for a long time and i've finally posted it, both here and on archive of our own under the same name. rintori is the main pairing but makoharu and reigisa are side pairings. ****thanks to tumblr user 0tterpops for the title name!**

**this fic is going to have eventual smut so the rating will definitely change later.**

**my tumblr is jojenstarked and i would really love it if you would message me cute rintori (preferred) or makoharu or reigisa headcanons!**

**enjoy!**


	2. Phone Number

Aiichirou woke to the loud sound of his alarm buzzing. He rolled over and sat up, pressing the button on top of the alarm to shut it up.

"Ai-chan!" Nagisa called from what Nitori guessed was the kitchen. "Come here, I made breakfast!"

The blue eyed teen reluctantly climbed out of bed. He picked a simple outfit, a blue t-shirt and denim shorts, and entered the kitchen, arms stretched above his head as he yawned. Ai sat down at the table and rested his chin on his palm. Nagisa hummed as he dished out scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. He set a plate down in front of Nitori before going to grab one for himself.

"Do you want juice or coffee?" his blonde roomie asked.

"Juice."

"Apple?"

"Mhmm."

The sound of liquid pouring into a glass filled Nitori's ears. Nagisa set down the glass in front of his friend and took a seat in front of him.

Nagisa stared at him. Nitori took a bite of bacon before setting it down and rolling his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"I need to know about your crush!" he whined. "I'll tell you about Rei-chan if you tell me about the guy you like!"

Nitori hesitated. He didn't mind telling Nagisa, he just didn't want to tell him too much and then find out he'd ran his mouth. Ai knew that Nagisa loved to gossip. He didn't want to tell him too much just in case he was friends with someone who knew Rin and in turn would tell him. The older boy doubted that would happen, but he decided to only give vague details.

"U-um…he's older. A sophomore I-I think," Nitori started. "A-and he's tall? Nagisa I just met him yesterday, I don't know that much!"

Nagisa giggled. "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, Ai-chan!" He took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "Anyway, about Rei-chan! He's a freshman, like us, and he's majoring in mathematics, which I've told him is extremely boring. He's really cute and has sorta bluish black hair and really pretty violet eyes and he has glasses too. He's a little younger than me, four months or so, and he's a really good cook! We've been hanging out a lot before he mustered up the courage to ask me out. When he did, I almost died!" Nagisa leaned back in his chair, letting out a happy sigh. "I've been waiting for him to ask me out for ages! I was about to ask him myself but then the day before yesterday, when I was at his house, he asked me out and I freaked out. He was really flustered and nervous, which was really cute, so I couldn't help but laugh. I said yes before I started laughing, obviously. I didn't want to sound mean. He got mad at me for laughing but I couldn't stop so guess what he did to shut me up! Guess, Ai-chan!"

Ai shrank back in his chair as the overexcited blonde looked at him expectantly. "U-um, I don't know, Nagisa," he replied before continuing to eat his breakfast.

"He kissed me!" Nagisa exclaimed. "It caught me off guard because I assumed that I would make the first move because Rei-chan can be really shy but it was amazing! I wish we could've gone further but he had to work on some stuff so I left. I bet I can convince him later!" the history major said with a smirk and a wink.

Nitori sighed as he managed a small smile for his roommate. He was genuinely happy for Nagisa but he was also jealous. He wanted a relationship like that, and with Rin too, which made it even worse because he'd only just met the guy.

He finished his breakfast. "I'll clean up today, Nagisa. You should go get ready for work."

"Okay!"

* * *

The two freshmen walked through the door of their workplace a few minutes after one. Makoto was manning the register, talking to an elderly woman with a cheerful smile as he rang her up. The woman gently took her flowers and thanked Makoto as she walked out the door. When she passed by, Nitori and Nagisa both smiled.

The two boys walked behind the counter to grab their aprons. Makoto crossed his arms at Nagisa. The blonde smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I see you're at work today," the tall brunette said. "I guess yesterday must've been important."

Nagisa cracked after a few minutes of Makoto staring at him with crossed arms. The magenta eyed boy told Makoto everything he'd told Aiichirou that morning. When he finished explained, Makoto began to laugh.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa whined. "Don't do that! You rarely get angry but you're scary when you do!"

The literature major laughed again, lifting himself from the stool behind the counter. "Good for you, Nagisa, but don't skip work to go on a date again."

"But you're going on a date today! Ai-chan told me!" Nagisa protested.

Makoto shrugged. "That's true, but at least I'm going to work. I'm only leaving early. Which is what you should do next time." The older male grabbed a watering can from the counter. "Here. Go water the flowers."

Nagisa huffed but took the watering can. He began to walk around the shop, watering each and every pot of flowers, except for the already made bouquets.

Nitori took his place at the register and Makoto walked outside to rearrange the display out front again. He watched as girls constantly stopped to talk to Makoto. He laughed to himself as he watch Makoto struggled to turn down the girl's offers.

Ai had been at the shop for two hours, and so far, there had been only three customers. They left after purchasing their flowers and thanking the three college students. Nagisa returned to the counter with the empty watering can. He set it down on the counter and lifted himself up to sit alongside the empty can.

"Ai-chan, this is too much work," he complained. "I want to go home and watch TV. I wanna watch season two of _Orange is the New Black_," he said with a drawn out whine. "I wanna know what happens to Piper and that crazy religious lady." The boy whirled around and grabbed Nitori's shirt. "I need to know, Ai-chan!"

Aiichirou jumped and pulled Nagisa's hands off him. "Alright, alright, I get it, let go." Ai sighed. "We can watch some when we get home, don't worry. I want to know what happens too."

The blonde sighed. He hopped off the counter and walked to the back of the store. Nagisa pulled out his phone and began to text Rei.

Ai watched as Makoto wiped his brow and headed back inside. He looked around the store.

"Where's Nagisa?" he asked.

"In the back," the silver replied.

"Nagisa! Come out here, I have a job for you!"

The magenta eyed boy stumbled out of the break room. He turned to Makoto and saluted him. "Yes, Mako-chan, what can I do for you?"

The literature major held out a bouquet of flowers with a note attached to them. "I need you to take these to the Iwatobi Hospital for a delivery."

Nagisa groaned. "But Mako-channnnn."

Makoto sighed. "If you go I'll let you and Nitori close up early," he bargained.

Nagisa brightened up. He nodded and grabbed the bundle of flowers. "You got it, Mako-chan! I won't let you down!" he said enthusiastically as he rushed out the door.

"He really has no motivation," Ai commented.

"None," Makoto agreed.

Aiichirou chuckled and Makoto went off to rearrange the displays inside the shop. He straightened the signs and pots. He removed his phone from his pocket and checked the time. He wasn't in the mood to turn around and look at the analogue clock behind him. It was almost four o'clock. The college freshman released a bored sigh and pulled up his new favorite game: 2048.

Another hour passed and Nitori was still playing that addicting game. He glanced at the clock behind him. Makoto would be leaving in about five minutes and Nagisa hadn't returned from his delivery, which meant he would be alone for a bit. He didn't understand what was taking Nagisa so long, though. Ai knew he could handle it but the thought of a flood of customers coming in when it was just him terrified him.

Then the bell jingled. The silver looked up and covered his mouth to silence his gasp.

Haru and Rin walked through the door. Nitori knew Makoto was going on a date with Haru but he didn't think the raven haired boy was going to come by and get him. And why was Rin there? Haru glanced over and met Nitori's crystal blue eyes with his own deep blue orbs, then nudged Rin in the arm with his elbow. Rin glared at his friend.

Makoto appeared from the back. He smiled brightly as he removed his apron. Ai noticed a pink blush dust Haru's cheeks.

"Good luck, Nitori. Oh, and you can close up early today. Just wait until Nagisa gets back," Makoto said as he walked over to Haru.

The shorter male glanced back at his friend. "Have fun, Rin. Remember what I told you or you won't get a date."

Rin whirled around on his heels, face red. "What the fuck, Haru!" he exclaimed, causing the silver haired boy behind the register to jump.

Haru smirked in return, following Makoto out of the shop. Nitori watched as the couple walked across the street and didn't look away until they disappeared from his view.

Aiichirou sighed. Then he returned his gaze to the redhead standing silent and flustered in the middle of the shop.

"Hey."

Once again, his sharp voice spooked Nitori. Sensing that he scared the younger boy, Rin apologized.

"Sorry. I'm just angry that Haru dragged me here for no reason and the dumped me here," the elder explained. He looked over at Nitori, his cheeks still a light shade of red. "Actually there is something I wanted to ask you..." His blushed got darker and Ai couldn't help but giggle. Rin glared at him. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry," Nitori said in between giggles, "but you just look cute when you're flustered."

Realization hit Nitori after those words came out of his mouth. He cupped his hands over his mouth, his face flushed red. It was Rin's turn to laugh.

"I think you look cuter," he said, a grin plastered on his face.

Aiichirou's face got even redder.

"Okay. Back to what I was going to ask you before you so rudely interrupted," Rin said jokingly. "Can I have your number?"

Ai nodded, trying not to blush any more than he already had, as he took out a post-it note from one of the three drawers under the counter. He grabbed a stray pen and uncapped it.

The door to the shop swung open, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

"Ai-chan! Sorry I took so long! I ran into Rei-chan and we went out for coffee!"

Nagisa's loud, cheerful voice caused Aiichirou to mess up his strokes. Rin turned around to look at the newcomer. He blushed and crumpled up the post-it note, scribbling quickly, but neatly. He ripped it off and handed it to Rin.

"Huh?" Nagisa spoke. "Ai-chan, who's that?"

Ai blushed for the hundredth time that day and avoided Nagisa's magenta gaze. Nagisa pressed a finger to his lips, then his eyes widened.

"Eh!? No way, Ai-chan!" Nagisa gasped. "Is that—!?"

A sharp glare shut the blonde right up. Rin glanced from Nagisa back to Nitori.

"I should get going. See you later, Ai," Rin said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he walked out of the shop, hands behind his head.

Nagisa ran up to the silver haired boy, slamming his hands down on the counter. "Is that who you we're telling me about?! The guy you thought was cute?!" his hyperactive roommate demanded.

Nitori nodded quickly. Nagisa clasped his hands together, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"He's so much different than I imagined. I pictured a nerdier sort of guy, but he's the complete opposite! He's got tattoos and piercings! I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff, Ai-chan!" the boy exclaimed.

"I-I wasn't but I don't know...he's different," Ai said, still avoiding his friend's eyes.

"What did he ask you for? Did he ask you out? Does he want to have sex with you?" the blonde pressed.

"Nagisa!" Ai squealed, blushing bright red.

Nagisa grinned. "I bet you want too," he said, leaning forward. Nitori leaned back.

"He asked for my phone number," the older boy said. "A-and he called me cute."

"Oooh, you're getting there," Nagisa said with a big grin plastered on his face. "But you have a long way to go."

* * *

**thanks for all the feedback and follows! it makes me really happy!**

**this has also been posted on archive of our own.**

**my tumblr is jojenstarked so feel free to message me with comments or suggestions (especially cute headcanons for rintori, makoharu, or reigisa) about this fic! i would really love it!**


	3. Sick

**this chapter contains spoilers for the orange is the new black season 2 finale and the ending of the first episode of game of thrones so read at your own risk if you ever plan on watching either of these two shows.**

* * *

Nitori and Nagisa walked home together in silence, though Nagisa was obviously bubbling with excitement because the two were going to start their _Orange is the New Black_ marathon.

When he entered their apartment, Nagisa ran into the kitchen to make snacks and get drinks. While the blonde got food, the silver set up their flat screen TV his dad gave them. With his PS3 controller, he opened up Netflix and got the first episode ready. Aiichirou pressed play when his hyper roommate ran into the room with a large bowl of popcorn and two cokes.

* * *

Nitori didn't intend to watch the entire season in one night but the pair couldn't stop. The credit rolled after the last episode of the season.

"Oh my god!" Nagisa exclaimed.

"No way," Nitori gasped.

"I can't believe she ran her over! Go Rosa!" Nagisa said, pumping his fist in the air.

"Well she was always very rude."

Nitori yawned and looked at the clock. It was almost four am.

"Shit," he groaned. He sneezed and rubbed his nose. "I'm not going to work today. I'm going to call in sick," the crystal blue eyed boy said, sneezing again.

Nagisa looked at the older boy with sympathetic magenta eyes. "I'll tell Makoto for you, you don't have to call," he promised.

Nitori nodded, but he knew he was still going to call when he woke up. He rose from the couch as Nagisa turned off the devices. The silver haired boy walked into his room and collapsed onto his bed, overtaken immediately by sleepiness.

* * *

It was almost three o'clock PM when Nitori woke. He was surprised that he'd managed to sleep that late. He groaned, pulling the fluffy comforter over his head. Against his will, he reached for his phone which was lying on his bedside table. He quickly texted Makoto and closed his eyes again, trying to shield himself from the sunlight. Ai's phone buzzed.

**From: Makoto  
Nagisa told me. I hope you feel better!**

The boy groaned again and reluctantly lifted the covers. His phone buzzed again.

**From: Nagisa  
GUESS WHO CAME TO THE SHOP TO SEE YOU AND ASKED ABOUT YOU AND WHERE YOU AREEEE!**

**From: Nagisa  
RIN-CHAN THAT'S WHO! HE ASKED ABOUT YOU SPECIFICALLY! OOOH NOW HES GOING TO CALL YOU BE READY AI-CHAN GOOD LUCK I HOPE YOU GET LAID TODAY!**

Nitori blushed. His phone rang. Aiichirou yelped and dropped his phone. He quickly grabbed it and answered it with a shaky, "H-hello?"

"_Hey_," it was Rin's voice. "_Are you okay? I heard this is your first time missing work in a long time_."

Ai sighed. "I'm fine, but I would be better if I had some donuts," he murmured.

He heard Rin chuckle on the other end. "_If I get you donuts, can I come over?_"

The blush Ai though was gone returned but he answered with confidence. "You bet your ass you can. Krispy Kreme, a dozen chocolate glazed. You may go."

Rin laughed. "_You got it. All I need is your address_."

Ai gave Rin the name of this apartment building and this floor and room number.

"I'll unlock the door for you so you can just walk in," Nitori said.

"_Okay_," Rin mumbled before he hung up.

Ai took a deep breath. This felt like a dream to him. He climbed out of bed and walked out of his room, comforter still wrapped around his body. He entered the living room and walked to their front door, unlocking it. Instead of returning to his room, the crystal blue eyed boy collapsed on the couch. He didn't fall asleep; he couldn't. He waited for Rin patiently.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on his front door.

"I'm coming in."

He recognized Rin's voice immediately. His door opened and the redhead walked in carrying a bag. Nitori smiled. The red eyed male walked over to him and placed the bag on the coffee table. He crossed his arms and looked down at Ai.

"You're not sick," he said with a grin. "Are you skipping work for no reason?"

The silver sat up, allowing the comforter to slip off his shoulders. "I-I'm not skipping for no reason. I-I have a reason," he stammered.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Do tell."

Ai glared at him. "Fine. Last night when Nagisa and I got home we watched the entire second season of _Orange is the New Black_ so it was like four am when we finished and there was no way I was going to go to work but Nagisa somehow woke up at 7 am perfectly fine and ready to work so he went and I stayed."

Rin stared at him for a second before laughing. Nitori blushed.

"What?"

"You stayed up all night to finish that show?" Rin said, still laughing pretty hard. "I mean, I have nothing against it but I wouldn't say it's worth staying up all night to watch. _Game of Thrones_, on the other hand, I would understand."

Nitori huffed, "Well I wouldn't know, I've never seen_ Game of Thrones_."

Rin stopped laughing. Ai looked at the older boy with a puzzled look. Rin stared at Aiichirou. His gaze caused the younger boy to shrink back into the couch.

"Wait here," Rin said, turning back to the front door. "Don't even move."

"I don't plan on it?" Nitori replied, though it came out more like a question than a response.

Ai watched Rin disappear out the door, shutting it behind him. He was beyond confused. He reached for the bag that Rin left on his coffee table. He smiled when he saw the Krispy Kreme logo. He pulled the box out of the bag and opened it, grabbing one of the twelve chocolate glazed donuts.

Nitori waited in silence. He checked his phone to pass the time. He rolled his eyes after seeing how many texts Nagisa had sent him. He opened up his messages to read through them.

**From: Nagisa  
HARU-CHAN TOLD ME HE'S GOING TO SEE YOU!?**

**From: Nagisa  
AI-CHAN OMG HE'S BRINGING YOU DONUTS YOU'RE PRACTIALLY ALREADY DATING!**

**From: Nagisa  
EVEN HARU-CHAN AGREES!**

**From: Nagisa  
Ai-chan you aren't answering me :(**

**From: Nagisa  
OH MY GOD ARE YOU GETTING LAID?**

Nitori laughed this time instead of blushing. He heard his door open so he locked his phone and looked up. He saw Rin walk through his door and pull it shut behind him. He was carrying a box. Rin walked over to him and crossed his arms.

"How do you work your TV?" he asked.

Not bothering to ask why, Nitori reached for the remote control and turned on the TV. Then he grabbed the PS3 controller and turned on the Play Station 3.

"Why?" he asked.

Rin showed him the box he was carrying. It was the complete first season of _Game of Thrones_. Nitori found himself smiling knowing that Rin went all the way back to his apartment to get that so they can watch it.

"You and I are going to watch _Game of Thrones_. All four seasons. The fourth season will be finished and all saved on my DVR by the time you're caught up."

"Um, okay," the boy replied.

Nitori instructed Rin on where to insert the DVD. After it started to load, Rin grabbed the remote and pressed select. He sat next to Ai on the couch and leaned back. When the menu popped up, he selected the first episode and pressed play.

* * *

_ "Stop, stop!" Cersei cries out. _

_ Jamie runs over to Bran and grabs him. _

_ "Are you completely mad?" he asks. _

_ "He saw us!"_

_ "It's alright, it's alright," Jamie says. _

_ "He saw us!" Cersei shouts again. _

_ "I heard you the first time," the eldest Lannister child says. He turns back to Bran. "Quite the little climber, aren't you? How old are you, boy?"_

_ "Ten," Bran replies. _

_ "Ten," Jamie repeats. _

_ He glances back at Cersei, who stares back at him. _

_ "The things I do for love," Jamie says as he shoves Bran out the window. _

The screen slowly fades to black.

Nitori stared at the screen in horror, glancing from the black screen to Rin, who sat next to the silver with a smile on his lips.

"That was awful," he said. "I hate you,"

Rin chuckled. "No you don't."

Nitori crossed his arms and huffed. "Play the next episode," he muttered.

"Can do," Rin replied, pointing the remote at the TV to play the second episode. "But I'll have to leave after this second episode. It's already five and Haru will get mad if I don't get him more mackerel like I promised before seven."

The younger boy nodded and moved closer to Rin. He leaned against Rin and rested his head on his shoulder. A soft blush tinted Rin's cheeks as he smiled.

* * *

Almost as soon as the second episode ended, the front door burst open and Nagisa ran in. The action caused Nitori to jump and drop the remote. Rin stood up. Nagisa stopped and crossed his arms, shaking his head at the pair. Rin ejected the DVD and turned off the devices.

"I should get going. Do you want to come over to my place after you finish work tomorrow?" Rin asked.

Ai smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Alright, I'll come get you. See you later," he said as he walked out of the apartment.

Nagisa look at his roommate with a disappointed gaze. "You let me down, Ai-chan, I thought you were having sex!"

Nitori rolled his eyes. "What gave you that idea?"

"You weren't answering me!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Maybe because I was having a good time with my friend," Aiichirou said.

Nagisa giggled. "Yeah your 'friend.'"

"Shut up."

* * *

Ai woke pretty early the next day, around 7:30 AM. His shift didn't start until after twelve so he had to options: go back to bed or do nothing until his shift started. Nitori was already wide awake so going back to bed was not an option, and he didn't really feel like doing nothing. The silver rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a lilac t-shirt and a pair of white skinny jeans. He grabbed his wallet off his bedside table along with his phone and keys. Aiichriou exited his room and slipped on his Rainbows flip flops.

He walked into the kitchen see if the two freshmen needed to go to the store for anything, since Nitori hadn't been to the store for a few weeks. He searched through the pantry and refrigerator. He made a mental list of things to get. He glanced over at Nagisa's bedroom door.

"I should probably see if he wants anything," Ai muttered to himself.

The boy walked over to his roommate's room and knocked on the door. After hearing a groan, he entered.

"I'm going to the store, do you want anything?"

Nagisa curled up in his fluffy pink and yellow blanket, trying to shield himself from the light coming through the large living room widows.

"...rtcake..."

"What?"

"...berry shortcake..."

"Nagisa, I can barely hear you," Ai sighed.

"...strawberry shortcake."

"Okay," the elder said as he closed the blonde's door.

He walked through the living room to the front door. He checked his phone for the time (it was five to eight) and noticed he had a new message. From Rin. A smile broke out on his face as he opened the message.

**From: Rin  
flower boy you better be awake because i'm bored. **

Nitori's eyebrows raised at the nickname. He quickly typed a reply as he left his apartment.

**To: Rin  
calm down, shark boy. yes i am awake. i'm about to go to the store. do you want to come?**

Nitori walked up to the elevator and pressed the 'down' button. He walked inside and greeted an elderly woman who was already inside. The lobby floor was already hit so he stood quietly, waiting for Rin's reply. His phone vibrated in his hand.

**From: Rin  
call me shark boy one more time and i'll never speak to you again**

**From: Rin  
but okay i'll come**

**To: Rin  
okay meet me outside my apartment building**

Nitori smirked as he typed another message.

**To: Rin  
shark boy**

The elevator reached the lobby floor and opened its doors. Nitori allowed the elderly woman to leave first. She passed him with a quiet 'thank you' and hobbled out. Ai followed and walked through the lobby. The blue eyed boy walked through the entrance of the apartment building and took a seat on one of the benches located outside. He took the opportunity to check his phone.

**From: Rin  
you fucking asshole**

**From: Rin  
you're not going to stop, are you?**

Nitori giggled.

**To: Rin  
nope ** **(** **✿◠‿◠** **)**

**From: Rin  
ugh well i guess it's better than what haru calls me sometimes but i'm sure as hell not telling you**

**From: Rin  
but then again shark boy is from that shitty movie with taylor lautner so maybe it isn't any better**

Nitori huffed. "But I wanna know", he muttered to himself.

"Yeah, well, you're not."

The voice shocked him, and he almost dropped his phone. Rin walked toward him, hands in his pockets. He was wearing a black racer back tank top, so Nitori could see the full extent of his tattoos, grey sweatpants, and flip flops.

Ai stood up. He slipped his phone into his pocket and walked over to Rin.

"You ready?" the redhead asked once Nitori came up to him.

He nodded.

"Alright, then let's go."

* * *

**wow, thanks for all the support for this fic! this chapter was not very eventful but i have a lot of stuff planned for later chapters.**

**feel free to message me here or on tumblr (it's jojenstarked) with comments or suggestions or headcanons or whatever :)**

**thank you!**


	4. Bonus Chapter 1

**i got the idea to make bonus chapters centering around the two other pairings in this fic, makoharu and reigisa. i don't know how frequent they will be but they will mostly revolve around their first and later dates and then their day to day lives.**

* * *

Haru was silent walking to the popular flower shop, Tachibana's Flowers, with his best friend, Rin Matsuoka. His friend since elementary school invited him to come with him to visit his dad's grave after learning that his sister cancelled on him to go out on a date. He said yes for two reasons: one, to support his best friend and two, because he knew that Rin hated going alone. He knew Rin was pissed off by the fact that his sister would rather go on a date than visit their father's grave, but Haru also knew Rin was pissed off about having to go buy the flowers, a task which Gou usually did.

They turned the corner at the end of the street. They came upon the colorful flower displays that were usually displayed beautiful out front of the store. Every time Haru passed by, the arrangement was different. He always wondered who the person who arranged the flowers every day was. Maybe he'd find out today.

Upon entering the store, Rin started to loudly complain. Haru had learned a long time ago how to block him out yet still looking like he was listening. He noticed two people were working, both looking around his age. Behind the counter there was a bored looking boy with silver hair and crystal like blue eyes. He was on his phone, occasionally glancing up to look at Rin. Haru didn't notice that his friend was still complaining. He noticed the other worker in the store a lot more. He was tall, a few inches taller than himself, and had brown hair and bright green eyes. Haru saw him glance over at him before he grabbed a box from under one of the tables and walked out of the shop. Haru looked over his shoulder and saw the brunette outside, pulling flowers out of the box and rearranging the display. Haru smiled softly.

"This is so stupid," Rin muttered. "Why do I have to do this? Why did Gou have to go on some stupid date?"

"Rin, don't complain to me about wanting to leave. You asked me to come with you in the first place," Haru sighed.

"Be quiet, Haru, you know I don't like doing this," Rin snapped back.

He rolled his eyes. "Well if you want to leave so bad then pick out some flowers. Do you have any in mind?" he asked, trying to keep himself calm.

Rin glared at him. "How should I know? He's dead!"

Haru glared at him. He glanced behind him at the man rearranging the flowers outside. "I'll be waiting outside. And seriously, learn how to behave in public please." He walked out of the shop and leaned against the glass next to the door and crossed his arms. Haru glanced over at the shop employee, carefully watching him arrange the flowers, picking out the flowers that were wilted. The brunette looked at him and Haru quickly looked away. A small smile appeared on his face.

"So," the employee began, glancing into the store window, "he a friend of yours?"

"Yeah. I'm real sorry about his behavior. He's really loud and obnoxious and gets really annoying," Haru answered, turning and smiling at the taller male.

"No, its fine. I was just wondering. Nitori seems to be handling him fine, though maybe I shouldn't have left him alone with someone with his personality. Nitori gets really nervous and shy around people like that. But I guess it's good for him," the green eyed man mused. "Anyway, I'm Makoto."

"Haruka, though Haru is preferred."

"Why are the two of you here anyway?" Makoto asked. "Though you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"Nah, it's cool. I'm here with Rin to get flowers for his dad's grave. His sister cancelled on him so he asked me to come with him," the art major answered.

"Oh," Makoto replied, pulling a wilted rose out of the arrangement.

"But I also like looking at the arrangements outside the shop whenever I come by," Haru said with a smile.

Makoto blushed, hiding his face in a handful of tulips. Haru's heart began to race. Makoto wasn't only cute, but incredibly adorable; like a kitten. Haru's face started to become red.

"You're really cute," he said.

"Eh?"

Makoto nearly dropped the bundle of flowers he was holding. He was blushing even more. Haru couldn't help but begin to laugh. He smiled at Makoto.

"Quick question," Haru began. "What time do you get off work tomorrow?"

"Um, six pm usually," Makoto answered. "Why?"

"Do you wanna go out with me tomorrow?"

Makoto finished placing the flowers. Haru started to get nervous. The brunette finished and turned to the black haired boy.

"Sure!" he said with a big smile.

Haru's heart raced even more. His face started to heat up. "U-um. Then I'll come by the store tomorrow at six," he said.

"I can take off early if that would be more convenient," the green eyed said. "Does five o'clock sound okay?"

Haru nodded. "Yeah, that's perfect," he said with a smile.

The store door opened and Rin walked out, carrying a bouquet of white tulips. "Come on, Haru," Rin said.

"One second," Haru pressed. "Um, Makoto, can I have your number?" he asked, handing the taller boy his phone.

Makoto nodded and quickly entered his information. He handed Haru his phone back. Haru smiled, slipping his phone into his pocket. Rin grabbed his arm.

"Come on, lover boy, we have things to do," the redhead said, yanking Haru away from Makoto.

Makoto chuckled as the blue eyed boy was pulled away from him. Haru huffed and pulled himself out of Rin's grasp. The two of them continued in silence to the cemetery.

"You seemed to like that guy," Haru commented

"Yeah, well, he was pretty cute," Rin replied with a smile.

* * *

When they got to the cemetery, Haru knew it wouldn't be long. He knew Rin's routine was to go to his dad's grave, place the flowers, and leave. He understood that Rin hated going but he could at least stay longer.

Haru never said anything, though. He didn't want Rin to get mad at him. They continued to their destination in silence, mostly because Haru didn't know what to say.

The grave was near the back of the cemetery, pretty much isolated from everyone else. It was a pretty pearly white marble engraved with his name, birthdate, and death date. The flowers that we're here previously had long been wilted. Haru crouched down and picked them up so Rin could place the fresh white tulips before the headstone.

Rin was silent and Haru just stared at him with sympathetic blue eyes.

"Haru, could you maybe stop staring at me. It's making me feel guilty and uncomfortable," the redhead muttered.

Haru smiled. "Sorry."

Rin took one last glance at the headstone before walking away. Haru followed and the two of them walked together to their apartment, talking about whatever came to mind.

* * *

The next day, Haru was lying on the couch, staring at the clock in his living room. He watched the clock. It was almost four forty-five pm. He was getting a bit nervous, which was something he hated. He kept thinking of all the possible bad outcomes of his date with Makoto. What is Makoto doesn't like him? What if he finds him too annoying? Haru shook his head. Makoto seemed to like talking to him yesterday, and he said yes to the date. Maybe he was just overthinking the whole situation.

He decided he should head out. The shop was at least fifteen minutes away.

"Rin!" he called. "Do you wanna come with me to get Makoto? It would be a good chance for you to talk to that boy you like!" Haru called from Rin, who was sitting in the kitchen.

"Shut up, Haru," Rin snapped. "But, yeah. I'll come."

Haru lifted himself off the couch. He walked into his room to grab his jacket. He gave himself a once over in the mirror. The art major sighed and pulled on his jacket. He exited his room and headed out of the apartment with Rin by his side.

"So what's that kid's name?" Haru asked. "The one that you like."

"His name is Ai," Rin replied. "Though he's called Nitori by Makoto but I prefer Ai."

"You prefer him alright."

"Shut up, Haru."

Haru laughed. "Are you going to ask him out?"

Rin shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm going to ask for his number today. I want to get to know him a bit before I ask him out, unlike you."

"Excuse you, Rin, but I know what I'm doing, unlike you," the black haired sophomore replied. "You just need to be a bit nicer and use a softer voice. Makoto told me that he's pretty shy."

Rin rolled his eyes as they approached the shop. Haru glanced at the display and smiled, knowing that it was Makoto who always changed the arrangement. Rin pushed open the door and Haru followed.

Haru scanned the shop, and his eyes met Nitori's. He nudged Rin in the arm, earning him a glare. Makoto walked out from the back room in the shop and smiled. A soft blush dusted Haru's cheeks. The brunette removed his apron and hung it up behind the counter.

"Good luck, Nitori. Oh, and you can close up early today. Just wait until Nagisa gets back," he said as he walked over to the blue eyed boy.

The shorter male glanced back at Rin. "Have fun, Rin. Remember what I told you or you won't get a date."

Rin whirled around on his heels, face red. "What the fuck, Haru!" he exclaimed.

Haru smirked in return, following Makoto out of the shop. He moved closer to Makoto and gently brushed his hand against the taller male's, who grasped his in return.

"What do you want to do?" Haru asked. "I was thinking we could go get something to eat and then go for a walk or something, but if you want to do anything different—"

"No, that sounds nice," Makoto interrupted with a smile. "Where do you want to go eat?" he asked. "There's a really nice seafood place down the street?"

Haru smiled. "That sounds great."

Makoto returned the shorter boy's smile and led him to the restaurant.

* * *

The couple walked through the park, hand in hand. It was late, so there weren't many people there. Haru led Makoto over to a bench and sat down, pulling the tall brunette down with him. He leaned his head against Makoto's shoulder.

"You're a sophomore, right Haru?" Makoto asked.

Haru glanced up. "Yeah."

"What are you majoring in?" Makoto asked. "I meant to ask earlier but I forgot."

"Art," the black haired male replied.

"Wow, that's really cool. What do you do?"

"I paint mostly, and sketch and draw," Haru said.

Makoto smiled. "That's nice."

Haru pressed himself closer to Makoto. "I could paint you something, if you want," he offered.

Makoto looked down at Haru. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Haru nodded and Makoto smiled. Haru's heart began to race. "Do you have anything in mind?"

Makoto shook his head. "Anything is fine if it's from you."

Haru blushed, pressing his hands against his cheeks. Makoto smiled softly and chuckled at his boyfriend. Haru glared at the green eyed brunette.

"What about you? What's your major?"

"Literature."

Makoto's response was short and simple. Haru took his phone out of his pocket to check the time. It was almost ten.

"Oh, wow, it's pretty late," he said, standing up. "I should get going."

"I'll walk you home," Makoto offered.

Haru smiled and took Makoto's hand once he was standing. He led him out of the park and in the direction of his apartment. Haru slightly leaned against Makoto as they walked and Makoto let go of Haru's hand, wrapping his arm around his shoulder instead. Haru was thankful for the darkness that hid his blush.

He stopped in front of a large apartment complex.

"This was fun," Haru said. "Thanks."

Haru turned to walk to the front door of the complex but Makoto grabbed his arm before he could. Makoto pressed him around, tilted his chin up, and bent forward, pressing his lips against the black haired male.

Haru adjusted quickly and began to kiss back, wrapping his arms around Makoto's neck. Makoto pulled back first, but the couple stayed the way they were: foreheads touching, Makoto's hands on Haru's waist, and Haru's arms around his boyfriend's neck. Haru released Makoto, a dark blush on his cheeks.

"It was. See you later, Haru," Makoto said with a smile as he turned to walk home, leaving Haru with a blush.

Haruka began to walk toward the entrance to the complex, touching his lips gently as he did, a gentle smile forming on his lips.

* * *

**this has been the first of (hopefully) many bonus chapters centering around the makoharu and reigisa relationships!br /**  
**chapter four will come after this, so get ready for some more rintori fluff!**


	5. Shopping

As the two started walking to the market, Rin stopped in his tracks. Nitori glanced up at him. The redhead returned his gaze.

"Something wrong?" Ai asked.

Rin shoved his hands into his pockets. "Do you wanna get something to eat before we go? I was going to suggest it afterwards but then I thought that going after would be kinda stupid. So, you down?" he asked.

Aiichirou nodded, "Yeah, sure. There's a place nearby that my roommate Nagisa and I go when we're too lazy or not in the mood to make breakfast. It's not far from here," he said, pointing to a large building at the end of the street across from the apartment complex.

Rin nodded and began to walk across the street, Nitori following quickly behind him. The walk to the restaurant was short and quiet. Rin opened the door and held it for Nitori, who walked inside with a light bush dusting his cheeks.

A young woman greeted them on their way in. "Two?" she asked.

Ai nodded. The woman grabbed two menus from the table and led the students to their table.

"Your server will be right with you," she said with a big smile, placing the two menus in front of the boys before walking back to the front of the restaurant.

Aiichirou opened the menu he was presented with and looked over the selection. A quick upward glance showed that Rin had done the same.

"Good morning!" a cheerful feminine voice caused Nitori to glance up. She had long red hair, tied up in a ponytail and a reddish eye color, a lot like Rin's. It was Gou, or Kou as she explicitly pointed out to him and Nagisa the last time they were here, a waitress that the silver and his roommate usually ended up with. "Can I take—Eh!?" Gou stopped talking and nearly screamed.

Rin looked up, his expression twisting from shock to some form of anger.

"What are you doing here?!" Gou exclaimed.

"Obviously I'm here to eat," Rin replied. "I'd like to ask you what _you're_ doing here. When did you get a job?"

"About two months ago. I'm not supposed to tell you everything I do, brother," Gou huffed. "And what are you doing here with Nitori?"

"I'm here with him because he's my friend." Rin glanced at Ai. "You know her?"

Nitori nodded. "Sort of. She's been serving me and Nagisa for the past few times we've been here," he said.

Rin sighed. "I guess I'll properly introduce you. Ai, this is my little sister, Gou—"

"It's Kou," she interrupted.

"Whatever," Rin muttered. "Are you going to take our order or not?"

Gou glared at her brother. She turned to Nitori and smiled sweetly. "What can I get you, Nitori?" she asked, holding up a notepad and a pencil.

Nitori glanced at the menu before closing it and setting it down. "Two blueberry pancakes with bacon and a coffee please," he said, handing Gou the menu.

She took it and turned to her brother. "And you, brother?"

"Coffee and a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit with hash browns."

Gou took the menu from her older brother. "You food will be right out." She turned and headed to the kitchen, her notepad still in her hand.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Aiichirou spoke.

"I didn't feel like mentioning her," Rin replied. "It's not that we have a rad relationship or anything, it's just that I didn't think you'd care."

Nitori only smiled.

"Anyway, changing the subject," Rin began. "How do you like _Game of Thrones_? You didn't tell me yesterday."

"I liked it a lot. I thought it was really good. I'm excited to watch more tonight," the silver haired boy replied.

The elder grinned. "Good. Glad you like it. Do you have a favorite character yet?" he pressed.

Ai nodded. "I really like Ned Stark. Though I also really liked Bran."

Rin nodded after a few seconds of silence. "Yeah, Bran's pretty cool, though my favorite is Jon Snow. He's fucking badass. Daenerys is also one of my top favorites. Tyrion too."

"Yeah, Tyrion is pretty cool. I don't know if I agree with you about Jon Snow yet. I don't like him that much," the younger boy admitted.

Rin stared at him. "You will like Jon Snow. I will make you like Jon Snow."

Ai laughed and shook his head. "Have fun trying."

Gou returned shortly after, carrying a tray with their food and coffee. She placed the plates in front of each of the boys and left with a smile after the two began eating

* * *

Rin paid for the meal, completely ignoring Nitori's objections. Nitori had promised to pay the redhead back but Rin waved it off. Nitori huffed and followed Rin out of the restaurant. The pair began to head in the direction of the Iwatobi Market. Rin was silent for most of the journey, until he glanced down at Ai.

"I meant to ask this earlier but you're in college, right?" he asked.

Nitori met his gaze. "Yeah, I'm a freshman," he responded.

"How old are you? Eighteen?"

"Nineteen."

"Are you sure?" Rin asked. "You don't look nineteen. Hell, you don't even look like you've hit sixteen."

Nitori stared at him, letting out a breath. "Yeah, Rin, I'm pretty sure I know my own age," the silver snapped back. "I turned nineteen at the beginning of the year."

Rin's eyebrows raised. "Alright, no need to get sassy with me. What are you studying?" the redhead asked, genuinely interested.

"Plants, plant life, things like that," Aiichirou replied, blushing slightly. "I want to be a botanist."

"You like plants that much, huh?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" the younger asked.

Rin shook his head. "No. I just like how you're dedicated enough to work in a flower shop," he said with a smile.

Nitori blushed. He looked at the elder, he debated whether or not to ask any questions but curiosity got the best of him. "What about you? How old are you?"

Rin grinned and put his hands behind his head. "I'm twenty years old. Is that all you like to know?"

Nitori shook his head. "I want to know what you're majoring in," the silver said, not meeting the redhead eyes.

"I'm an English major," Rin said as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "and I am a sophomore."

"Well I kind of figured if you're older than me then you're obviously a sophomore," Nitori muttered. "I'm not that dumb."

"I never said you were dumb, Ai," Rin said with a smirk, watching the silver carefully for a reaction. "In fact you are smarter than most people I've met. I can actually hold a conversation with you without getting annoyed. You're fun to talk to."

Nitori blushed, giving Rin the exact reaction that he wanted. "You're fun to talk to too," Nitori mused.

The two college students turned the corner and found themselves in front of the Iwatobi market. Nitori thought back to the morning and recall everything that he made a mental note to get at the store. He pushed open the door and walked inside, Rin not far behind.

On his way inside, Ai grabbed a cart from the rack and pushed it into the store. The two began to walk through the grocery store. Ai struggled to remember everything he listed mentally in his head.

"Ugh," he groaned, tightening his grip on the cart handle, "I really wish that I wrote down everything I thought we would need this morning. I can't remember anything except Nagisa's strawberry shortcake." His shoulders slumped slightly but he straightened up a second later. "Whatever, I'll just guess."

"Amazing," Rin commented. "Haru usually always gives me a detailed list when he doesn't feel like going out to do the shopping and I don't even understand most of the stuff on the list because it's so complex so I end up having to call him and ask, which pisses him off; but you and your roommate look like you could give less of a shit," he said with a laugh.

Ai smiled. "Yeah, Nagisa and I are pretty lazy when it comes to shopping for food. We usually wait until we have almost or absolutely nothing. It's also usually me who does the shopping because Nagisa would just buy junk food and strawberries and we would have to live off that until I felt like going. It's happened once so I banned Nagisa from doing the grocery shopping, but I do get him something every time I go. It's usually strawberry shortcake, though."

Rin chuckled.

"Hey, do you know what time it is?" Nitori asked.

The English major pulled his phone from his back pocket. "Its 11:03," he answered.

"Crap. I gotta hurry so I can make it to work on time."

The silver began to push the cart up and down various items, grabbing whatever he thought he and his bubbly blonde roommate needed, with Rin following behind him.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me carry all this back to my apartment," Ai said as he shuffled around for his key.

Rin smiled. "No problem. It was fun," he replied.

Nitori unlocked the door and pushed it all the way open, picking up the bags he set on the grown. He walked inside and into the kitchen, Rin following behind him.

"Nagisa!" he called, surprised that the blonde wasn't waiting for him in the living room.

He left the kitchen and headed over to Nagisa's bedroom, knocking twice on the door. After no answer, he opened it. The room was empty.

"Huh," Ai muttered. "I guess he went out or to work early."

The blue eyed boy returned to the kitchen and began to put away the groceries.

"Thanks a lot for coming with me and for breakfast, Rin," he smiled. "It was a lot of fun. You don't have to stay. Plus I have to go to work in twenty minutes."

Rin nodded. "I'll see you after work then?"

Nitori was confused for a second before remembering that he made plans with Rin to watch more Game of Thrones at Rin's apartment after he got off work. "Yeah."

"Alright. Just text me when your shift ends and I'll come pick you up," the redhead said as he retreated toward the front door. "Bye."

Aiichirou waved to him and got back to putting away the items he bought at the store. He made sure to put Nagisa's strawberry short cake in the fridge so it would stay fresh.

Once he finished putting away all of the groceries, he collected all of the plastic bags and opened the pantry door where he and Nagisa kept all of their bags to be recycled. He closed the door and sat down at the table, burying his face in his hands. He was blushing.

"Oh my god," he said to himself. "I was out with him all day. It was practically a date! I know Nagisa will call it that because I know it's not. I mean we're just friends. It's not like anything is going to develop between us. And I'm totally fine with that. Being friends with him is good enough. Just seeing him all the time is good enough."

Nitori was never one for talking to himself but he just had to get all that out of his system. He had fifteen minutes until he had to get to work. Ai stood up and pushing in the chair, grabbing his phone and keys. He walked into his room to plug in his phone so it would at least be fully charged at work and at Rin's apartment.

The silver looked at himself in his mirror. His face was still red from earlier. Aiichirou pressed his hands to his cheeks to try and cool them down and stop the blushing. He let out a breath and checked his phone. It was nearing twelve and he had to be at work by 12:10 pm. He grabbed his phone and unplugged it, shoving it into his pocket. Nitori grabbed his keys and headed out the door.


	6. Talking

The silver haired freshman walked to the shop in a daze. He couldn't help but replay the events of earlier that morning. He found himself blushing just thinking about it. He approached the shop and saw Makoto arranging the display out front.

"Hi, Makoto," the silver said cheerfully.

"Oh, hey, Nitori," the brunette said with a smile. "Um, be careful going in the shop, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Just be careful, alright?"

"Um, alright," Ai replied as he made a face.

Though very confused, Nitori decided it was best not to ask any more questions. He took a couple steps back and entered the store.

The silver snapped out of his previous daze when he entered the store to see Nagisa sitting on the counter, furiously making out with a male with blueish black hair. Ai blushed, not knowing what to do. He hurried past the couple to the back of the store but he stopped by Nagisa's cheerful voice.

"Oh, Ai-chan! When did you get here?" he asked, turning around to stare at the blushing boy.

"U-um, I just got here," Aiichirou replied.

Nagisa pressed a finger to his cheek. "Oh, so you saw then. Sorry, Ai-chan!" The smile on the blonde's face said anything but sorry. "Kinda caused Mako-chan to go outside earlier than he usually does! But while you're here, Ai-chan, this is my boyfriend, Rei-chan!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the blushing man behind him, furiously pushing up his red rimmed glasses. "Rei-chan, this is my roommate Ai-chan or Nitori!"

"Oh, hello," Nitori said, looking past Nagisa to examine Rei.

"N-nice to meet you," Rei replied.

"You too," the blue eyed boy responded.

Rei turned to his blonde boyfriend and muttered something about getting back to work. Nagisa nodded and said something that was inaudible to Aiichirou. The history major reached forward and grabbed onto Rei's collar, pulling him into a goodbye kiss. Nitori couldn't help but smile. Rei muttered a quick goodbye to both him and Nagisa as he hurried out of the shop, saying goodbye to Makoto as well when he passed by the brunette who was still organizing a new flower display.

Nagisa grinned and slipped off of the counter. "Well, Ai-chan," he began, "how was your date this morning? You know, with Rin-chan," the blonde smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Nitori asked.

Nagisa huffed. "You know when you woke me up early in the morning asking me what I wanted from the grocery store and then went on a date with Rin-chan," he said.

"It wasn't a date, Nagisa," Aiichirou said. "We just went out as friends."

"That's not what Haru-chan told me," the blonde said, puffing out his cheeks. "He told me you what Rin told him and from what I heard it sounded like a date."

"Did Rin say it was a date?" the silver countered.

Nagisa crossed his arms, "Well, not exactly."

"Then there you have it. It wasn't a date," the older boy said.

"I bet you wanted it to be a date," Nagisa said with a big grin plastered on his face.

Ai blushed. "Maybe a little bit," he replied honestly. "But we're just friends now. He doesn't like me that way," the silver said, trying to bring the conversation to an end.

"Haru-chan says otherwise! He says that Rin-chan is _suuuuuper_ into you!" Nagisa said excitedly.

Nitori scoffed but smiled. "I'm still not going to get my hopes up, Nagisa, but feel free to try all you want," he said, his smile softening.

"Oh, that's right! Aren't you going over to Rin-chan's place after work?" Nagisa pressed.

Nitori nodded, beginning to get weary at what his was roommate was going to ask next. "Yeah, I am."

Nagisa nodded, his hand holding his chin as he did. "Is he coming to get you? Is this going to be your first time at his house or apartment or whatever?"

"Yes he is coming to get me and yes this is the first time I'm going to be at his house because we've known each other for less than a week," the silver replied.

Nagisa lifted himself back onto the counter top. There were no customers in the store, so either it was very bust before Nitori arrived or it had yet to come. He hoped it had been busy before he came in because he didn't want to become even more stressed out. He was already stressed about going to Rin's house because he didn't want to do something to make Rin not like him, and Nagisa's constant talking was beginning to slightly stress him out as well.

"Hm. I wonder how long it'll take before the two of you hook up," the magenta eyed boy said, once again pressing a finger to his cheek. "Hopefully it won't be long. I want to be able to go on triple dates! You and Rin, Mako-chan and Haru-chan, and me and Rei-chan!"

The concept made Ai's head spin. He didn't want to say anything to make Nagisa upset so he only smiled and nodded, muttering a soft, "Yeah, maybe."

"Oh, come on, Ai-chan! You need to sound more enthusiastic! You won't a boyfriend or get laid if you're always so tightly wound!"

"I'm not always tightly wound," the silver grunted.

Nagisa giggled. "Okay, _most _of the time."

Aiichirou rolled his eyes but laughed along with his hyperactive blonde roommate. "Whatever you say, Nagisa."

Nagisa was about to reply when the shop bell jingled. The pair of freshmen looked to the door and greeted the young male that entered the shop. Ai was grateful for the customer so Nagisa was forced to drop the subject and go help the customer. Nitori sat down in front of the register and waited.

* * *

Nitori hesitantly glanced at the clock behind him and then the clock on his phone. He was nervous. His shift would be over in less than five minutes and then he would be going to Rin's apartment.

Makoto left long before Nitori and Nagisa, leaving the two of them alone. Nagisa was set on leaving when Nitori did so he didn't have to work alone in the shop. Ai didn't feel like arguing with the younger boy so he just nodded.

The bell jingled and Nitori froze up. Rin entered the shop but remained by the door, waiting for Ai. The silver untied his apron and hung it on the hook behind him.

"Nagisa!" he called. "You close up, okay?"

"'Kay!"

Nitori grabbed his keys and phone from under the counter and let out a deep breath as he approached Rin.

"Nice to see you again," Rin said, a small smirk playing on his lips.

Aiichirou rolled his eyes, blushing slightly. "Y-you too."

The pair walked out of the shop together, Rin holding the door for Nitori as he hurried out, blushing darker. Rin walked out behind Ai and allowed the door to close gently behind him. Nitori was bubbling with a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and slight stress. The walk to Rin's apartment was quieter and longer, but not too long, than he expected. He followed Rin to a nice looking apartment complex and followed him inside.

Rin said a quick hello to the woman working behind the front desk. Nitori smiled at her. He led the silver toward the elevator and pressed the 'up' button. He selected the floor and let out a sigh. The redhead looked over at Ai.

"You can relax, you know," he said with a smile.

Aiichirou glanced up. "Sorry."

"It's cool. I understand you're nervous."

"I don't want to be, though," Nitori replied honestly.

"Do you like cats?" Rin asked abruptly.

Nitori perked up and nodded, "Yeah!"

Rin smiled. "Then you'll be fine."

Nitori opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the elevator opening. He followed Rin out and down the hall, where Rin stopped to unlock a door. Something darted out of the apartment and into Rin's arms. He laughed when the creature pressed a paw against his chin. It was a cat. A small calico cat.

"So your apartment allows pets?" Nitori asked.

Rin turned to him, the calico climbing on his shoulder. "Yeah. I take it yours doesn't?"

"Sadly no. He's cute though," the silver said, approaching the kitten slowly. He held out his hand and allowed the cat to sniff him. He stroked its chin. A purring sound filled his ears. "What's his name?"

"You're going to laugh at me," Rin said.

"What? No I won't," Ai replied. "What's his name?"

"…Jaws…"

Nitori snorted and covered his mouth.

"See I told you you were going to laugh at me," Rin huffed, cradling the cat in his arms. He walked inside the apartment.

Nitori followed. "I'm sorry. It honestly is a cute name, Rin."

The English major looked away, a red blush dusting his cheeks. Something jumped off the black leather couch and onto the ground in front of Nitori. It was another cat. This one was larger and had a much simple pattern: black with white paws. He crouched down and scratched the cat behind its ears.

Rin disappeared into the kitchen and brought out two small bowls. He placed them on the floor. Jaws rushed toward his bowl. The other cat remained seated in front of the silver haired boy.

"Get your fat ass over here, Mack, it's time to eat," Rin called.

The fatter cat remained seated.

"Come get your mackerel, you cannibal."

Nitori shot Rin a look. Rin chuckled.

"Her name is Mackerel. She's Haru's cat."

This time Nitori didn't even try to silence his laughter. "What is with you two and naming animals? You could've named your cat after your favorite _Game of Thrones_ character, you know. He looks young enough. Or another character you like."

Rin sighed. "Okay I found him in a box in the rain, cliché I know, but I picked him up and I watched the movie Jaws before I went out and he was a biter so I kinda just went with it," he replied. "As for Haru's cat. Well he just really likes mackerel. And so does Mackerel."

Ai giggled. "You took in a homeless cat that's so cute. You don't look like you would," Aiichirou said, covering his mouth slightly as he laughed.

Rin crossed his arms and huffed, cheeks turning slightly red. "W-whatever." The redhead walked into the living room holding the other tin bowl. "C'mon, mittens, you have to eat even though you're already fat." He placed the bowl in front of Mackerel who immediately began eating.

Nitori smiled after hearing Rin's nickname for the white footed cat.

Nitori stood up and sat down on one of the two leather couches. He watched the cat as she ate, smiling to himself. The calico, Jaws, trotted in between Rin's legs and over to Mackerel, sniffing the bowl gently, earning him a hiss and a smack to the nose from the eating feline.

Jaws tumbled backwards and jumped onto the couch where Ai was sitting. He padded over to him and climbed into his lap, curling up tightly. Aiichirou rubbed the cat's head gently. Rin picked up the empty tin from in front of the larger cat and took it into the kitchen. He dropped the two bowl into the sink and returned to the living room, collapsing next to Nitori on the black couch. Mackerel hopped onto the couch and then jumped onto the arm of the chair.

"J seems to like you," Rin said after a few seconds of carefully watching Ai caress the calico's small head. "That's a first. He's usually really skittish around new people."

"I don't know, animals usually seem to like me," Aiichirou replied, stroking the kitten's back.

Rin grinned slightly. He stood up. "Okay, now to get to doing what you came here for. Episode three."

Ai smiled slightly at Rin's enthusiasm. He waited patiently on the couch as Rin turned on the large screen TV directly in front of the couch the silver was currently sitting on. He turned on the other devices and slipped in the disc.

He turned back to the couch and sat down, holding the remote in his hands. The loudness of the menu caused Mackerel to jump off the couch and into another room. Rin raised the remote and selected the next episode before placing the remote on the glass coffee table in front of the pair. Ai leaned back and relaxed into the couch, lazily petting the calico's head as his eyes fixed on the screen.

* * *

**sorry for the long wait! i got lazy and neglected the chapter but i've been inspired! and thanks to my friend for naming the cats lol**

**i'm thinking another bonus chapter is going to come next (it will be reigisa!) focusing on their first date! so far there are three side pairings for this fic: makoharu, reigisa, and seigou (maybe four if i decided to add in soumomo) but their might be more friendship centered bonus chapters like haru and rin's relationship or rin and gou's. maybe even seijuro and momotarou's!**

**anyway, thank you for all the reviews favorites and follows! it means a lot!**


	7. Bonus Chapter 2

Nagisa sipped his cup of tea which was given to him by his long term crush, Rei Ryugazaki. Though they met only at the beginning of the school year, the two were very close, but not as close as Nagisa wanted them to be. The blonde sighed and took another sip of his tea, settling back into the couch.

It was currently the third week of spring break, and Rei had been working on something for his major practically the entire month, much to his blonde friend's dismay, but the mathematics major had made sure to take a break once in a while to hang out with Nagisa.

Today was one of those days. Nagisa was happy, sitting on the couch in Rei's one-bedroom apartment, watching the younger male finish up his work.

Rei closed his laptop, causing Nagisa to perk up.

"Eh? Rei-chan are you done?" the blonde asked, setting his cup on the little table beside him.

"Mhm."

"Come sit with me!" the magenta eyed boy said cheerfully.

Rei rose from his place at his desk and grabbed his cup, moving over to Nagisa. Nagisa picked his cup up again and watched his movements closely, fingers tightening around the mug in his hands. The blonde was thinking about something he'd been toying with for a long time: asking out Rei. He didn't know how to go about asking him, though, because he didn't want to end up saying something wrong and sounding stupid.

Rei sat next to the magenta eyed boy and sat down next to him, placing his cup on the coffee table in front of him.

"Hey, Rei," Nagisa spoke, playing with the sleeves of his sweater. "I have a question for you."

Rei turned his attention to his friend. Nagisa found himself getting nervous. He was never nervous. He was always confident in his actions and always knew what he wanted to do. He waved his hand.

"N-never mind," he said, followed by a breathy laugh.

Rei glanced at him. "Are you okay, Nagisa-kun?" the mathematics major asked.

Nagisa returned his gaze. Regaining his confident demeanor, he grinned, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Rei-chan! Nothing to worry about!"

Rei held the blonde's stare for a few seconds before looking back to the coffee table and picking up his mug. His fingers tightened around the ceramic material. Nagisa watched him, noting how his face was beginning to turn a light pink, then a soft red.

"N-Nagisa-kun, I have something to ask you," the violet eyed male said.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked, tilting his head to the side, causing blonde locks to fall in front of his face.

Said boy's face because even redder, and Nagisa couldn't help but crack a smile. He liked seeing Rei get flustered, even without knowing the reason. He thought it was cute.

Rei didn't meet Nagisa's magenta eyes. Nagisa moved closer, trying to get a good look at Rei's face.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Nagisa repeated after a long period of silence.

"W-what?" Rei asked, turning his red face to the blonde.

"What is your question?"

Rei jumped a bit. "O-oh right. W-well, um, N-Nagisa-kun, I was wondering i-if you wanted to m-maybe go on a date with me?" Rei sputtered, face darkening.

Nagisa's magenta eyes went wide with pleasant surprise. "Yes!" he exclaimed before a string of giggles escaped his lips.

Rei looked at the blonde, an embarrassed and slightly offended look formed on his face as he watched the blonde laugh.

"N-Nagisa-kun!" he gasped.

Nagisa pressed his hands against his cheeks in an attempt to calm himself down, but to no avail. The blonde continued to giggle.

"Nagisa-kun!" Rei repeated.

"I-I'm sorry, R-Rei-chan! You're just too cute when you're flustered!" Nagisa said between laughs.

Rei huffed and crossed his arms, still watching the small boy laugh. He moved toward him.

Nagisa's closed eyes shot open when he felt something make contact with his lips, and his face flushed when he realized Rei was kissing him. His arms wrapped around the younger boy's neck as he kissed back, eyes falling shut.

Nagisa felt like he was going to melt. His lips moved in perfect sync with Rei and before long his tongue found its way into the violet eyed's mouth. Their tongues moved around each other in a passionate heat, twisting and twirling around each other. The blonde moved to straddle his partner.

Nagisa felt lightheaded. He pulled away, panting hard, and pressed his face into Rei's neck, sucking gently on the skin.

"N-Nagisa-kun…" Rei muttered. "I still have work to do."

Said boy leaned back and pouted. "Fine. Do you want me to come by tomorrow?" he asked.

Rei nodded. Nagisa gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Rei-chan," he said with a smirk as he gathered up his belongings. "I love you." The blonde walked out of the apartment, leaving Rei on the couch, blushing and speechless.

* * *

Nagisa opened the door to his apartment. "Ai-chan, I'm back," he called out.

Nitori poked his head out from the kitchen. "Where were you?" he asked.

"At a friend's house," the younger replied.

Nitori nodded. "I didn't know when you were coming back so I didn't make anything for dinner," he said.

Nagisa nodded. "That's okay."

The silver nodded and walked off toward his room. Nagisa walked into the kitchen and grabbed his leftover strawberry shortcake from the fridge. He grabbed a fork and retreated to him room. The history major placed his cake on his bedside table and pulled his phone from his pocket. He dialed Makoto's number.

Upon getting Makoto's voicemail, the blonde left a message: "Ah, Mako-chan! Something urgent came up for tomorrow so I won't be able to make it to work! Sorry!"

Nagisa hung up and placed his pink cell phone on the table next to his bed. He grabbed the strawberry shortcake and the fork and began to eat, smiling to himself as he began to think about tomorrow.

* * *

It was around noon when Nagisa arrived at Rei's apartment, dressed in a pink t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. He pulled out the spare key Rei had given to him a few months after they first met and unlocked the door. He had made sure to let Rei know that he was on his way and that he was going to let himself inside his boyfriend's apartment.

He took a seat on the couch as he waited. Rei emerged from his bedroom dresses in a button down shirt tucked into dark blue jeans, paired with black converse. Nagisa smiled and stood up to meet Rei. He greeted his with a swift kiss on the lips, causing the blue haired boy to blush.

"Are you ready, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked.

Rei nodded. Nagisa grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his apartment, letting go of his hand only to allow him to lock up his apartment. The blonde reached out again and grabbed his boyfriend's hand, dragging him out.

"Where do you want to go, Rei-chan?" Nagisa asked. "What do you want to do?"

"Where ever you want to go Nagisa-ku—"

"The aquarium!" Nagisa shouted, letting go of Rei's hand and grabbing onto his shirt. "There was a penguin exhibit added recently and I haven't been able to go and I _really _wanna go! Can we go, Rei-chan? Please!"

Rei grabbed Nagisa's wrists and pulled them off of his shirt. "Okay, okay. Of course we'll go," he said, releasing one of the blonde's hands.

Nagisa trotted beside Rei, grasping his hand tightly as the couple walked to the aquarium. The walk was silent, mainly because Nagisa was too excited to speak. It's been a while since he'd been able to go to the aquarium. School was really taking up all of his time.

If Rei hadn't been holding onto Nagisa's hand, the blonde would've surely ran into the building, probably running into a bunch of other pedestrians. Nagisa tugged Rei forward.

"Come on, Rei-chan! Hurry up!" he exclaimed, his magenta eyes sparkling with excitement.

Rei sighed, a smiling coming to his lips. He followed Nagisa inside, after paying for tickets. The mathematics major allowed his energetic boyfriend to tug, drag, and pull him where ever he wanted to go.

"Rei-chan! Rei-chan! Look!" Nagisa gasped, pointing to a tank containing rays.

Nagisa pulled Rei away from the tank and followed the signs leading to the brand new penguin exhibit. When the couple arrived to the exhibit, there was already a crowd of people. Nagisa managed to squeeze through the mass of people, allowing him and Rei to be in the front.

Nagisa's eyed widened in delight as he watched the penguins. Rei smiled, tightening his grip on his boyfriend's hand.

* * *

Nagisa couldn't stop smiling the whole walk back to his apartment. Rei had offered to walk him home and there was no way Nagisa was going to say no. Nagisa laced his fingers with Rei's, resting his head against his shoulder as they walked. Nagisa stopped and tugged gently on Rei's hand.

"Thank you for today, Rei-chan," Nagisa said, turning his body so he was directly in front of his boyfriend. "It was a lot of fun."

Nagisa reached upward and wrapped his arms around Rei's neck, pressing his lips gently against the taller male. Rei placed his hands on Nagisa's hips. The blonde pulled back.

"Let's do it again sometime. When you have the time, obviously. I'll text you later, Rei-chan. I love you!" he said, turning around.

"I love you, too, Nagisa-kun."

Nagisa stopped, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. He continued walking, turning around before he walked inside to wave to Rei.

The blonde walked toward the elevator and stepped on, pressing the button for his floor. He exited and walked to his apartment, unlocking the door. He walked inside and locked the door again, unsure when his roommate was going to get home.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of chips. Nagisa returned to the living room and fell back on the couch. He heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. Nagisa jumped up from the couch and tackled Nitori when the door opened.

"Ai-chan!" he exclaimed, releasing the silver haired boy from his grasp. "How was work today?"

"Uneventful," Nitori responded, glancing at his blonde roomie. "Speaking of," he began, "why weren't you there today?"

Nagisa averted his gaze and laughed, waving his hand. "I-it's nothing. Something came up and I _had_ to go today."

"What came up?" Ai pressed.

Nagisa whined, "Ai-chan…"

Nitori narrowed his blue eyes at the boy. Nagisa avoided making eye contact again and he stood up from the floor. He walked back to the couch and dropped down, face pressed into a pillow.

"C'mon. I won't tell Makoto," Ai said.

Nagisa peeked out from the pillow. "Promise?" he asked, sitting up. He placed the pillow in his lap and tugged at the strings of his hoodie, which, now that Nitori got a good look of the magenta eyed boy, looked a little too big for him.

"I promise," Ai responded.

Nagisa took a deep breath. "Okay. The reason I called in and said I couldn't go to work today is because I got asked out on a date." Nitori rolled his eyes and Nagisa waved his hands in front of him. "Don't do that, Ai-chan! The only reason that I said something important came up is because it _was _important! He couldn't go any other day during spring break because he has to do a bunch of work over spring break! Please, Ai-chan, don't get mad, I've been crushing on this guy for _ages_. He's the one I'm always talking about!"

Nitori chuckled. "I'm not mad at you, Nagisa," he said. "But you better come to work tomorrow. Makoto's going to be leaving early tomorrow."

Nagisa tilted his head. "Why?"

"These two guys came by the shop today to buy flowers and one of them was being really loud and annoying and kind of mean so Makoto went outside and then his friend went outside and Makoto started talking to him and he got asked out so he's leaving early tomorrow to go on a date. But at least he's coming to work."

Nagisa pouted for a second before smiling. "That's great for Mako-chan!" he said excitedly. "But that means you had to deal with the mean customer. Were you okay?"

Nitori blushed and looked away. "Y-yeah, he was fine after he calmed down. U-uh, he was nice," he stammered.

Nagisa giggled and leaned forward. "Was he cute?" he asked with a smirk.

Ai's blush darkened. The blue eyed boy pressed his hands against his cheeks again. He nodded quickly. Nagisa threw his hands up in the air, a big grin on his face.

"If he comes back you need to point him out to me. I'm curious to see what this guy looks like," Nagisa smirked as he retreated into his bedroom, collapsing onto his bed, smiling to himself as he replayed the events of his date with Rei in his head.

* * *

**SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! i started school last week (ew junior year) and i had to get my schedule changed because i was in the wrong classes and such, but i should be able to update more often because my math class is now second semester (thank god).**

**also my 'a' key is having a lot of difficulty so i have to type a lot slower to make sure i'm actually pressing it so that's another reason for the delay.**

**anyway, enjoy some reigisa fluff! more rintori will come next (tbh i don't even know where i left off with those two...)**

**(and yes i reused parts from an earlier chapter because it was relevant and maybe because i'm lazy)**


	8. Texting

Nitori rolled over on his bed, pulling the blanket up to his chin. Makoto was visiting his family for the last week of spring break so he closed the shop for the week, giving him the week off. But he had nothing to do because Rin told him last minute that his mother wanted him to come visit for the week, so he left last night.

Rin promised that he would text him the whole time he was away, because he had told the silver that visiting his mom was fun, but got boring after a couple days. He said that he'd try to come back early.

Ai heard his phone vibrate against his bedside table. He reached over and grabbed it.

**From: Rin  
are you awake**

**To: Rin  
yes, why?**

**From: Rin  
i'm at my mom's house and gou came too and she brought her new boyfriend and its making me very uncomfortable and awkward**

**To: Rin  
why?**

**From: Rin  
he's like huge and really loud. great now my mom's asking me all these questions like 'are you still single' 'do you have a girlfriend' **

**From: Rin  
no mom i don't have a girlfriend and i never will because i don't like girls. i've told you that like a billion times get it through your head**

Nitori read the text and his eyes widened.

"I can't be imagining this. He explicitly said that he doesn't like girls. That means he likes boys right? So he could like me?" Nitori sighed to himself, thankful that his roommate was spending the night at Rei's house. "It's a nice thing to know."

**To: Rin  
my step mother is a lot like that. every time i talk about someone she's like 'oh do you like him' and i'm like 'we're friends, you're supposed to like them' and she's like 'that's not what i meant'**

"Was that too obvious?" he asked himself. "Using 'he'?"

**From: Rin  
shit she wants to know who i'm talking to what should i say? friend probably**

**To: Rin  
or you could say boyfriend. be like 'no more girlfriend talk in this house mom'**

**From: Rin  
oh my god**

Nitori grinned. Talking to Rin was something he loved to do because he made him feel so relaxed.

**From: Rin  
update: she wants to meet said boyfriend. she can't tell i'm joking**

**To: Rin  
i'm on my way**

**From: Rin  
please do i'm fucking bored**

Nitori began to laugh. He missed talking to Rin in person, but texting him was just as fun. He could be as funny or sarcastic as he wanted to without getting flustered or mess up.

**From: Rin  
fuck my mom wants us all to go out and she's making me leave my phone here because i haven't seen her since thanksgiving and she wants me to 'stop talking to my boyfriend and talk to her' **

**From: Rin  
god dammit mom i am 20 years old don't tell me what to do i'll talk to my pretend boyfriend all i want **

**To: Rin  
rin as your fake boyfriend i command you to do what your mom says**

**From: Rin  
fine. i'll talk to you tomorrow then. bye**

Nitori smiled.

**To: Rin  
bye**

* * *

"Ai-chan, do you want to watch _Horton Hears a Who?_" Nagisa asked as he rummaged through a pile of movies.

Nitori looked up from his phone. "Sure," he answered.

Nagisa turned on all the devices and began to set up the movie. Ai sat down on the couch, holding the remote. Nagisa moved to join him once everything was set up. Nitori pressed play.

The silver haired boy's phone buzzed. Nagisa glanced over at him.

**From: Rin  
i probably should've said friend because my mom asked me all these questions about my 'boyfriend' last night so i had to bullshit all these answers**

Nitori snorted. Nagisa leaned toward him, trying to look at his phone.

"Who are you talking to, Ai-chan?" the blonde asked. "Is it Rin-chan? I bet its Rin-chan."

**To: Rin  
you'd better have made me sound good**

"Ai-chan, you're much funnier while texting," Nagisa commented, reading the response. "Or maybe it's just with Rin-chan. Because you like him."

"Nagisa can you not read my texts," Ai said.

"What? I'm just making sure you're not sexting," the blonde smirked.

"Nagisa!" Aiichirou exclaimed, his face erupting in a red blush.

The magenta eyed boy flashed a grin.

**From: Rin  
i made you sound like the #1 boyfriend. i definitely bullshit your height because that i don't know. i think i said like 5'3?**

**To: Rin  
excuse you i am 5'6 thank you very much**

"Are you really that tall, Ai-chan?" Nagisa mused. "You're taller than me."

"Only by one inch. And Nagisa, can you please stop reading my texts."

"Sorry, sorry," the blonde muttered.

**From: Rin  
wow really**

**To: Rin  
yes really i know my own height**

**From: Rin  
well okay**

"Ai-chan, stop talking to your boyfriend and watch the movie with me," Nagisa while.

"Alright, alright."

**To: Rin  
nagisa wants me to stop talking to you so i can watch a movie with him so i'll talk to you later**

**From: Rin  
okay later**

* * *

**From: Rin  
i'm free i'm leaving early. well not really early because school starts again tomorrow but earlier than i planned on leaving today. do you wanna meet up if you have time?**

Nitori sighed. He wanted to meet up but he was stuck with going to the shop and watering all the flowers because Makoto couldn't make it and Nagisa didn't want to. Yeah, he loved plants and flowers but he'd definitely rather meet up with Rin than water some plants. Plus, he had to do some last minute shopping for college.

"Ugh, Makoto, why must you do this to me?" he mumbled to himself as he lazily watered a pot of tulips.

**To: Rin  
sadly i don't have time today but maybe tomorrow? like after school or lunch?**

**From: Rin  
sounds good to me**

**To: Rin  
see you tomorrow then**

**From: Rin  
yeah, see you tomorrow**

* * *

**sorry, this is a pretty boring, uneventful, and short chapter because i don't want to do a really big time skip. but like each section is a different day and it's pretty much just texts. so enjoy?**

**(it's super ooc and probably very annoying to read and hard to keep track of who sent what and confusing and i'm sorry)**

**i'm so sorry.**

**i got lazier and only wrote for three days.**

**the next chapter will be better, i promise. they'll be going back to college.**


	9. School

It was early. Earlier than the silver had been up all of break. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, stretching his arms above his head. He glanced over at his clock. It was around 5:32 am. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. Why did his classes have to start so early? He envied Nagisa, who didn't have to get up until ten o'clock for his first class, whereas his classes started at eight o'clock.

He gathered all of his materials and stuffed them into his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He walked over to his desk to grab his laptop and charger. He slipped them into his bag.

There was a reason he was up so early. He could wake up at 7:30 and make it to his first class by 7:50. The reason was Rin. The redhead had returned from visiting his mother yesterday but Nitori wasn't able to meet up with him so they made plans to meet before school started.

Rin's first class was at seven o'clock so they decided to meet up at around six o'clock. He carefully opened his door, trying his best not to wake Nagisa. The blue eyed boy grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter and headed out the door.

He made his way to the elevator and was about to press the 'down' button when his phone buzzed.

**From: Rin  
hurry up. i said i was waiting for you remember?**

Nitori smiled and boarded the elevator. He pressed the ground floor button and waited.

**To: Rin  
i'm coming i'm sorry **

He walked out of the elevator and rushed out the front door of his apartment building. He noticed Rin leaving against the side of the building, arms crossed. Nitori approached him.

"What took you so long?" Rin asked, pushing himself off the wall. "I've been waiting for you for like ten minutes."

"I'm sorry. I had to make sure not to wake up Nagisa because he gets angry when woken up before six o'clock," the silver haired boy replied.

Rin nodded. "Do you wanna go get coffee or something?" he asked, glancing down at the silver.

Ai nodded. He followed Rin down the street, passing two young women.

"Oh, aren't they such a cute couple," one of them said.

"I'm jealous. If only someone would look at me the way that redhead boy looks at the other boy," the other one mused.

Nitori blushed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, giving Rin a sideways glance. The older boy was smiling, and Ai wondered if he overheard what the women had said.

The two arrived at a café and walked inside. They took a seat near the back of the café, sitting across from each other.

"What do you want?" Rin asked, glancing up and Aiichirou.

"Just a regular coffee and a muffin, please," the silver replied.

"Any cream or sugar?"

"A small amount of cream and three packs of sugar," Ai said, smiling at Rin.

The redhead nodded and stood up, walking over to the barista. As soon as Rin left, the elderly woman near Nitori turned around and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You have a really sweet boyfriend," she said. "How long have you been dating?"

Nitori's face turned red. "O-oh, we're not d-dating. We're just friends," he said quickly.

"Oh, that's a shame," the old woman said. "The two of you would make a really cute couple. Give it some thought." She smiled at Nitori before standing up and hobbling out of the café. Nitori's phone vibrated against his leg.

**From: Nagisa  
where are you ai-chan?**

**From: Nagisa  
are you with rin-chan?**

**From: Nagisa  
i bet you're with rin-chan**

Nitori sighed and typed back a reply.

**To: Nagisa  
yes i'm with rin calm down nothing is happening**

When Rin returned, he gave the silver and concerned glance. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Your face is red."

Aiichirou nodded quickly. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

He grabbed his coffee and took a sip. Rin stared at him for a couple more seconds before biting into his bagel.

* * *

After almost an hour of talking, the two left the café. It was almost seven so Rin had to get to the university or else he'd be late to his first class. Nitori decided to walk with him because he didn't have anything else to do until his classes started at eight.

They walked beside each other in silence. Upon arriving at the university, the two parted ways.

"I'll text you when I can," Rin said. "Maybe we can meet during lunch or something. If not then, then after school."

Aiichirou nodded, grabbing the strap of his bag tightly. "Okay sounds good," he said.

"Later then," the redhead said as he walked off toward wherever his first class was.

Nitori wasn't sure how to spend the hour of free time he had so he decided to head to the library. The library on the campus was huge, filled with all sorts of books. Ai pushed open the heavy door and slipped inside.

Ai wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do in there. Probably grab a random book of a shelf and read what he could until his class started. He walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a book. He walked over to a table and sat down, beginning to read the book he chose.

* * *

It wasn't long before Nitori's two hour break between his classes came. He made sure to check his phone after biology class finished to make sure he had no new texts from Rin.

**From: Rin  
do you have time to meet up for lunch? haru and makoto are coming but they'll probably leave together **

**To: Rin  
yeah sure**

**From: Rin  
okay then meet us in front of the fountain in the courtyard.**

**To: Rin  
okay**

He began to walk to the designated meeting place. He sighed and stretched as he walked, desperately wishing that he could go home.

He walked into the courtyard and over to the large fountain where he saw Haru, Makoto, and Rin waiting. Rin was the first to notice and greet him, walking up to the silver with a big smile on his face. Haru and Makoto glanced at each other before greeting the boy.

"Where do you want to go?" Rin asked the blue eyed boy.

Nitori shrugged. "I'm not sure. I'm okay with anything."

Haru smiled slightly. "Makoto and I are going to leave, okay? You two have fun. Bye Rin, Nitori," the dark haired male said.

Rin and Nitori said their goodbyes to the couple and watched them walked off together, hand in hand.

"How long do you have until your next class?" Rin asked, pushing his hands into his pockets.

"About two hours," the younger replied.

"So do I. Perfect," Rin grinned.

The two began to walk. Neither knew where to go but they had time. In glanced over to Ai.

"You better not have touched _Game of Thrones_ while I was gone," he said.

Aiichirou chuckled. "Don't worry."

"Good. We're on, what? Episode nine? I don't think we'll be able to watch it until summer because I have a lot to do before school ends," Rin muttered.

Nitori nodded. He was about to speak but a voice stopped him.

"Brother!"

"Matsuoka!"

Ai turned around and saw Gou running toward him, followed by a tall and muscular guy with red hair and golden eyes.

That must be Kou's boyfriend, Nitori thought.

Rin placed his hands on his hips. "What do you want?" he asked, an irritated look on his face.

"What? A girl can't say hi to her brother?" Gou huffed, crossing her arms.

"Well do you need anything else? I'm kinda busy," Rin said.

"Where are you going?" Gou asked.

"To lunch with Nitori."

Gou looked behind Rin and at the silver haired boy. "Hi, Nitori!" she said cheerfully.

Ai returned her greeting with a smile and a wave. Gou looked back at Rin. She gasped.

"What?" Rin asked.

"Is it him? You told mom you had a boyfriend, remember. So is it Nitori? Please say yes, he's a god match for you," Gou said, staring at Rin expectantly.

Aiichirou blushed and turned away. Rin's cheeks reddened. "N-no. We're just friends. I only said I had a boyfriend so mom would stop asking if I had a girlfriend."

Gou pouted. "You're no fun, brother. Why don't you actually go get a boyfriend instead of pretending?"

Rin's blush darkened. "L-let's go, Ai," he said quickly, grabbing the silver's wrist, dragging him away from his sister and her boyfriend.

Eventually, when they were a good distance away from the couple, Rin released Ai's wrist.

"Sorry about that," he said, not meeting the younger boy's eyes.

Nitori shook his head. "It's alright," he answered. "Anyway, do you have any idea where you want to go?"

Rin shrugged. "Do you want to just go to the cafeteria?" he asked.

"Sure."

They began to walk toward the university cafeteria. Rin opened the door and held it open for Nitori. The silver ducked inside, followed closely by the redhead. They got their food and sat down at a table away from everyone else and began to eat.

* * *

It was late by the time Nitori finished his last class. It was almost nine o'clock in the evening. He unlocked his apartment and walked inside, dropping his take out order on the counter. The apartment was empty because the majority of Nagisa's classes were at night for reasons unknown to the silver.

Nitori pulled out his laptop from his bag and placed it on the counter. He opened it and powered it up, taking a bite of his burger as he did so. The blue eyed boy logged on to his computer and opened up the notes he took in biology. He sighed and began to write his paper that was assigned that morning.

* * *

**hello wow another chapter. i'm getting good at updating regularly (i will regret those words soon i bet)**

**this chapter is pretty short, but the next one will be longer. the next chapter will be a rin based chapter (not a bonus chapter) showing rin's side of the story! (also i don't know how to introduce sosuke) i'm hoping to actually do TWO rin based chapters before i do a major time skip (i'm still toying with that idea so it may or may not happen, depending on how lazy i am) to summer vacation.**

**i've said it before and i'll say it again, my tumblr is jojenstarked so if you have any comments or suggestions or maybe want to share some headcanons, feel free to message me :)**

**hope you enjoy! (and pls alert me of any errors! i'm uploading this without doing my usually few times over check for errors because i'm in a hurry! thanks)**


	10. Love

Rin sighed, tapping his fingers on the desk he was sitting at. He stared at his laptop and at the blank word document. He glanced at his phone next to him, then checked the time on his laptop. 7:21. He wasn't surprised. Class had just started, so of course that was the time.

It was May, so there was only a month left of school, and Rin couldn't wait for it to be over. He had planned on waiting until summer to ask out Ai and it was close, but the redhead was still having second thoughts about the whole idea.

**To: Ai  
convince me not to get up and leave this class because i am so fucking bored and it's only been 20 minutes**

The redhead placed his phone back down next to his laptop and stared at the screen some more. If it were any other day, he would be almost halfway done with his paper. He rummaged through his backpack for the book that he was supposed to write his report on. He groaned.

"Shit I left it at home. God fucking damn it," he muttered quietly to himself.

His phone lit up. He grabbed it.

**From: Ai  
if you don't have good grades i can't hang out with you**

**To: Ai  
wow harsh**

**From: Ai  
you asked me to convince you and if that doesn't then i will go watch game of thrones without you if you get up and leave**

**To: Ai  
alright, alright i'm staying. **

The English major leaned back in his chair. He glanced down at his backpack, debating whether or not to check it again. He decided to check it once more just to be safe.

"Oh it is here," he muttered, pulling out his copy of Fahrenheit 451, which was beat up and filled with post-it notes and pen markings and annotations. He flipped through it to pick up where he left off on his mental outline for his paper.

The redhead sighed, placing the book on the table so that the spine was poking up. He turned to his laptop and began to write, alternating between the word document, an online dictionary, and a thesaurus.

"Rin."

He looked up. In front of his was a tall and muscular male with dark hair and almost turquoise blue eyes.

"Sosuke," Rin said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing some research for a paper. I would've gone to the bigger library if it was closer but it's too far away and inconvenient so I came here," Sosuke said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I saw you this morning with some high school kid. He your boyfriend?"

Rin blushed, jumping slightly at the sudden question. "N-no, he's not. We're just friends. A-and he's not in high school; he's a freshman."

Sosuke chuckled, earning his a glare from his friend. "He doesn't look like just a friend. You like him, don't you?"

Rin averted his eyes and picked up his book. "Y-yeah…" Rin muttered. "Yeah, I do."

"Then why don't you do something about it instead of deny that you like him and continuously say that you're just friends?" Sosuke asked, pulling up a chair in front of the redhead.

Rin sighed, resting his chin on his hand. "W-well, I was actually planning on asking him out some time during the summer but…I don't know. I guess I don't want to scare him off. Though when we were texting during spring break, I subtly said that I don't like girls and he replied back with something similar, but he used a masculine pronoun. It could've been a mistake, though."

"From what I saw, he seems relaxed and comfortable around you. If you ask me, asking him out wouldn't scare him off. How long have you known him?" Sosuke said, shrugging as he rose from the chair.

"Since the second or third week of spring break," Rin replied.

"That's…what? A month? A month and a half? I'd say that's enough time to know someone before you ask them out. From what I witnessed, he looked incredibly comfortable around you," Sosuke pointed out. "I'd give asking him out a shot."

"I didn't know you were the one to give advice. Usually Haru's the one lecturing me about these kinds of things," Rin said with a smirk.

Sosuke shrugged. "Anyway, I gotta get going. See you later, Rin," he said, walking off toward the exit.

"Later."

* * *

Rin was glad his last class was cancelled. That meant he could go home early.

The redhead hummed as he walked home. His apartment building was extremely close to the university so the walk didn't take more than five minutes.

When he walked inside his apartment, he was surprised to see Haru sprawled out on the couch, his cat Mackerel curled up on his stomach.

He looked up. "What are you doing here?" Haruka asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Rin replied. "I'm here because my psychology class was cancelled."

"I left because I felt sick," Haru muttered. The dark haired male stared at him. "Why have you been leaving early every morning?"

"I meet up with Ai before my classes start because we don't get to see each other too often.

"Are you two dating yet?" Haru asked.

"N-no!"

"Why not?"

"B-because I haven't asked him yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't—because I—ugh, Haru I don't know why," Rin groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"Do you like him?" Haru asked, sitting up and looking expectantly at his friend.

"Of course I do!" Rin replied.

Haruka nodded. "Do you love him?" he asked in a serious tone.

Rin froze. He looked at the ground, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He never expected anyone to ask him that.

"Rin."

He continued his silence.

"_Rin_," Haru hissed.

"…es."

"I can't hear you," the art major said with an irritated tone.

"Yes," Rin replied. "I do. I love him."

"Then why are you waiting?" Haru asked.

Rin ran his fingers through his hair again. "Because I don't know how he feels."

"Rin, have you even been paying attention to him at all? Have you ever seen the way he looks at you or acts around you?" Haru asked, standing up. "Makoto told me when we first met that Nitori was extremely shy around people, and ever since he met you he's been become more and more open and less and less shy. Both Makoto and Nagisa have said that even though they've known him for a long time, he isn't that open with the, Rin, if he doesn't love you then…I honestly have no clue what to tell you."

Rin was speechless. "I'm…" he muttered, "I'm still going to wait."

Haru shrugged, reaching out to stroke Mackerel's head. "Suit yourself," he said. "But soon enough you'll find yourself wishing you did it sooner."

The dark haired male reached for his phone and walked out of the apartment, leaving Rin alone in the living room.

* * *

**i lied. this chapter isn't any longer. in fact, i think it's shorted. but rin based chapter, yay.**

**i also forgot this fic was supposed to have angst in it until someone left a comment on archive of our own about it and thank you for doing that or else this fic would be fluff all the way to the end. but i was thinking about my original thoughts on the angst part and scrapped it because i thought of something even better (that probably makes me sound horrible) so i've already started planning for that.**

**also there's a time skip to may because a lot of things will happen in may.**

**anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	11. Visit

Nagisa rose from the empty bed in Makoto's dorm. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the three other occupants.

"Okay, you probably know why I gathered you here today," he began. "Ai-chan and Rin-chan need to hook up."

"N-Nagisa-kun, did you really drag me all the way over here to discuss that?" Rei asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes, I did, Rei-chan, because it's important," the blonde replied.

"It is," Haru murmured.

"See, Haru-chan agrees," Nagisa whined.

Rei only rolled his eyes. Makoto leaned back on his bed, looking from Nagisa to Haru.

"Are you sure this is even a good idea?" he asked. "I mean, shouldn't we let them figure it out on their own? I don't think either of them would like to know that we helped them get together…"

"I agree," Rei said, nodding his head.

"We're literally going to be sitting around for years then until one of them gets the balls to fess up!" Nagisa pointed out.

"He's right. I had to force it out of Rin," Haru said with a shrug.

"Force what?" Nagisa asked, turning his attention to the expressionless male.

"His confession."

Nagisa's eyed widened. "Eh?! What did he say?!" he asked enthusiastically.

"I asked if he liked him, and he said yes," Haru said. "Then I asked if he loved him."

Nagisa gasped and grabbed Haru shoulders. "What did he say?"

"He said yes."

Nagisa would've screamed if Rei hadn't covered his mouth before he did. The blonde was practically bouncing up and down out of excitement.

"That's great! Now I only have to find out how Ai-chan feels!" Nagisa exclaimed, a determined look on his face.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Nagisa?" Makoto asked. "I don't feel like you should be interfering."

Nagisa pouted. "Mako-chan, you're no fun," he huffed.

"I agree with Makoto," Rei nodded. "You shouldn't interfere."

"Rei-chan!" the blonde whined.

Haru glanced at Makoto. "If Makoto thinks it's a bad idea then we shouldn't do it."

Nagisa rolled his magenta eyes. "Haru-chan!" he sighed. "Fine. At least talk to Rin-chan about it more and get him to man up."

Haru nodded.

"Okay, everyone, you're dismissed!"

* * *

Aiichirou sighed, leaning into the couch. He was waiting for Nagisa to get back from wherever he ran off to.

"Ugh," he groaned. "What's taking him so long?"

The door opened, catching Nitori off guard. Nagisa burst into the apartment. He hurried into the living room.

"Ai-chan!" he shouted. "I have to tell you something!"

"Let me go first," Ai said. "I don't have classes tomorrow so I'm leaving later today to go visit my dad and step-mom. I won't be back until late tomorrow night, maybe early morning the next day."

Nagisa frowned. He shook his head. "Okay. But before you leave, let me ask you something," the blonde said, leaning toward Nitori.

Nitori leaned back. "What?"

"Do you love Rin-chan?"

Ai stiffened. "W-why would you ask something like that?" he stammered.

Nagisa grinned. "Because I know you like him but I want to know if you _love_ him. So? Do you love him? I won't tell anyone."

Ai stood up and walked into his room. Nagisa followed him.

"Tell me, Ai-chan!"

He picked up the bag he'd packed before Nagisa had returned home. He walked over to the table beside his bed and grabbed his phone and charger, shoving the charger into the bag.

"Ai-chan!"

The silver walked out of his room and over to the front door. Nagisa ran ahead of him and threw himself against the door.

"I'll let you leave if you tell me. Do you love Rin-chan?" the blonde asked, looking at his roommate with piercing magenta eyed.

Nitori looked down at the ground. "Yes," he muttered quietly. Then he raised his voice. "Now let me leave."

Nagisa stepped away from the door. "See you later, Ai-chan!"

Nitori sighed and walked out of the apartment. As soon as the door closed behind him, Nagisa shouted, "He loves you too!"

* * *

Nitori sat near the back of the train, a blush prominent on his cheeks.

"Did Nagisa really say what I think he said?" he asked himself quietly. "Did he really say that Rin loves me too? Then again, it is Nagisa so it's probably another idea to try and get me to tell him. I guess he wants to make me more comfortable?"

The silver sighed as he relaxed into his seat. He leaned against the window. His phone lit up in his hands.

**From: Rin  
i'm finally free do you wanna hang out?**

Nitori chewed on his lip and groaned.

**To: Rin  
if only you asked me sooner. i'm literally on a train right now to visit my dad and step mom. sorry**

**From: Rin  
why are you apologizing that's fine**

Nitori let out a relieved sigh. He knew Rin wouldn't be mad at him but he liked getting the reassurance.

**From: Rin  
how about when you get back then? i'll make time**

Nitori's heart fluttered and his cheeks darkened.

**To: Rin  
sounds good**

Nitori placed his phone into one of the exterior pockets on his bag. He leaned against the side of the train again. He glanced out the window, watching the trees before closing his eyes, and slowly falling asleep.

* * *

"Mako-chan! Haru-chan!" Nagisa called out as he rushed toward the couple.

"What is it, Nagisa?" Makoto asked, a concerned look forming on his face.

"I was talking to Ai-chan last night and," he stopped talking and took a deep breath, "he said he was in love with Rin-chan! Well, he didn't actually come right out and say it. I had to kinda force it out of him," the blonde chuckled, "but he said it! Now can we please try to get them together, Mako-chan? Pleaseeeeee."

"It's great that he returns Rin's feelings but…" Makoto crossed his arms, "whatever you have planned, I want no part in it," the green eyed male said. "If you already have something planned, that is."

Nagisa pouted. "I don't but I will!" he turned to Haru. "Haru-chan, you'll help me, right?" he asked, looking at the older boy with pleading eyes.

"I'll give you information about Rin's feelings," he said. "But I won't help with any sort of physical plan."

"Yay!" Nagisa exclaimed. "I'm counting on you, Haru-chan! Be sure to report back to me!"

* * *

"Hey, Rin," Haru spoke, rubbing gentle circles behind Jaws' ears.

"Yeah?" the redhead replied, pushing a small food bowl toward Mackerel. The fat cat hissed at Rin before eating. Rin sat back, watching the cat eat. "Haru, what did you want?"

Haru looked up from the cat and at his roommate. "How exactly do you feel about Nitori? What do you like about him?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Rin asked defensively.

"I'm curious."

"W-well, I think he's really cute and I like that he only seems to relax when he's with me. But I do find it weird how he never seems to talk about plants or things relating to that. I guess it's because he doesn't want to bore anyone. And I like talking to him and being with him and…fuck, Haru I really love him."

A small smile formed on Haru's lips. "I know," he said. "And I want you to be happy, and if you ask me, he makes you happy. So just try."

"Haru, I don't know. I'll think about it. He left to go visit his dad and step mother today because he doesn't have classes tomorrow, and I don't really feel like doing it when he gets back. I'll do it over summer break, I promise," Rin said, moving to sit on the couch.

Jaws hopped off Haru's lap and curled up on Rin's. He stroked the kitten's head gently.

"Okay," Haru said softly.

* * *

Nitori was lucky he woke up before his stop. The train lurched to a stop. The silver grabbed his bag and stood up, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He walked to the front of the train and walked off.

"Nitori!"

The silver looked around for the source of the voice and noticed a boy, around his height, with ginger hair and golden eyes, waving his arms.

"Ah, Momo!" Nitori said, walking up to the ginger. "It's been awhile!"

Momotarou nodded. "A year almost."

"What are you doing here? Don't you have school?"

The ginger shook his head. "We have the day off today, and I heard from your parents that you were coming to visit today so I offered to come and get you," Momotarou explained.

Nitori nodded. "Are you graduating this year?" he asked, walking alongside the ginger.

The golden eyed boy nodded. "Yup! Then I'll be attending your university!"

"That's great!" Aiichirou said with a smile.

Momo nodded. "Yeah! It's also the same university my big brother goes to so I'll get to see him a lot more," he said.

Nitori nodded. He glanced over at the younger boy beside him. "Momo, is there a flower shop around here?" he asked. "I don't remember."

He nodded. "Do you want me to take you there?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, just follow me!"

Ai followed behind the energetic boy through the streets of his hometown. He maneuvered around pedestrians and stopped behind Momotarou, who came to a stop in front of a large building.

"Here we are!" he said, gesturing to the building. "I'll wait out here."

Nitori nodded and pushed open the door. He was greeted by a colorful arrangement of flowers. He stepped forward, scanning the store for the right type.

"Can I help you with anything?" the lady at the register asked.

"No, thank you," Nitori replied with a smile.

The lady nodded and Ai went back to walking around the shop. His eyes landed on a bouquet of pastel pink tulips. He grabbed them and took them to the register.

"These, please."

The lady smiled. "$9.99," she said.

Nitori fished out some money and placed it on the counter. The lady open the register and handed him his change.

"Thank you," Nitori said.

She nodded with a smile. The silver turned around and exited the shop. He walked up to Momotarou.

"Do you want me to come with you or do you want to go alone?" the ginger asked.

"I don't mind if you come with me," Nitori said, glancing over at the boy.

"Alright!" Momo cheered. He turned to Ai. "Do you remember how to get there?"

Nitori sighed, a blush slightly tinting his cheeks. "Sadly, I don't. I feel bad for not remembering, even though I was here a year ago…"

"That's okay, Nitori. I would probably forget too," Momotarou said, weaving his way through the people walking down the street.

Nitori struggled to keep up with him. Finally, after pushing his way through crowds of people, the two boys stopped in front of the cemetery. Nitori tightened his grip on the bouquet and walked forward, greeting an elderly man who was walking out.

Ai knew exactly where to go from here. It would be horrible if he didn't. Momotarou trailer after him as he searched for his mother's grave. He stopped in front of a pearly white marble headstone with elegant writing carved into it.

Nitori felt bad that he didn't know what he wanted to say. He usually planned in advance but since the visit had been so sudden, he didn't have time to plan anything.

He crouched in front of the grave and gently placed the pink tulip against the headstone. He stayed like that for a moment, reading over the writing on the headstone. He stood up and turned around, walking next to Momotarou.

* * *

Nitori stood in front of his house. He knew he could probably just walk in because he knew where his dad hid the spare key, but he decided to knock. He heard barking, and then footsteps, and then he was suddenly embraced.

"Aiichirou, I've missed you so much!"

That voice belonged to his step mother, Tama. He felt little licks and small paws on his legs. He glanced down and smiled at Tama's Pomeranian, Cocoa. He pulled himself out of his step mother's grasp and bent over to pick up Cocoa.

"I'm going to leave now," Momotarou said. "I'll be down where you are over summer so I'll see you soon! Bye Nitori!"

"Bye, Momo!" Ai called back, waving back at his friend.

He watched the ginger run off before turning back to his step mother.

"Aiichirou, it's been so long! I'm so glad you decided to visit!" Tama exclaimed, hugging the boy tightly again, squeezing Cocoa in the process.

The dog yelped and struggled to get out of Ai's arms. He set the dog on the ground. Cocoa shook before trotting into the house. Tama let go of him.

"Come inside," she said. "Your father is at work so he won't be home until dinner. So for now you can just relax."

Ai nodded. He walked over to the staircase and headed up the stairs, followed by Cocoa. He stopped at the end of the hall and opened his bedroom door. Cocoa padded inside and hopped up on his bed. Nitori joined her after placing his bag at his desk, making sure to take out his phone.

He turned his phone back on and allowed it to finish constantly vibrating before going to check his messages.

Most were from Nagisa, but there were a couple from Rin.

**From: Nagisa  
ai-chan, why do you even like rin-chan?**

**From: Nagisa  
ai-chan?**

**From: Nagisa  
ai-chan this is urgent i need to know**

**From: Nagisa  
tell me**

**From: Nagisa  
ai-chan**

**From: Nagisa  
ai-chan**

**From: Nagisa  
ai-channnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn**

**From: Nagisa  
ugh you're a loser**

**From: Nagisa  
you're probably texting rin-chan instead of me, your best friend**

**From: Nagisa  
worst friend 2k14 award goes to none other than aiichirou nitori**

Nitori chuckled at the last text.

**To: Nagisa  
i fell asleep on the train, calm down.**

**To: Nagisa  
i'll tell you in person why i like rin okay?**

**From: Nagisa  
fine**

**From: Nagisa  
you'd better**

Nitori closed out of the conversation and went to read Rin's messages.

**From: Rin  
okay so then text me when you get back or something**

**From: Rin  
i have to go, haru wants me to go with him to the seafood market to get some mackerel. talk to you later then**

Nitori smiled and placed his phone next to his pillow. He fell back on the bed, spooking Cocoa. He closed his eyes and felt the dog snuggle against his back before he fell asleep.

* * *

"Aiichirou!" his step mother called. "Dinner's ready!"

Nitori sat up, rubbing his eyes gently. Cocoa had left, probably a long time before he woke up. The silver stretched his arms above his head before standing up. He yawned and walked out of his room and down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and sat down at the table where his dad and step mother were waiting.

"It's good to see you, Ai," his father said.

He nodded. "You too."

"Are you staying the night, Aiichirou?" Tama asked.

Nitori nodded. "But I have to leave in the morning because I remembered there's something I have to do," he said, beginning to eat the food in front of him.

"How's school?" his dad asked.

"It's good. Great, actually. Classes are fine and I'm doing well," the silver replied.

"Have you made any new friends?" Tama inquired.

Nitori nodded. "A few actually, but one I've gotten to know a lot more than the others. His name is Rin and he's a year ahead of me. He's majoring in English," he explained.

"That's great! What's he like?"

"Well, when you first meet him he comes off as rude and obnoxious but after being around him for a while, he's actually really nice," Ai said.

Tama nodded. "You should bring him by someone. We'd love to meet him."

His father nodded. Nitori smiled.

"Okay, I'll ask him."

When dinner was finished, Nitori's father went into his office to start his work. Ai helped his step mother clean up.

"The way you talked about that boy Rin…" she began. "Do you like him? And not as a friend, I mean."

Nitori's cheeks tinted pink. "Y-yeah, kinda," he replied.

Tama smiled. "Then when you bring him by, hopefully it's as your boyfriend and not as your friend."

Nitori nodded. "Alright. I'll try."

He finished cleaning and headed up to his room. He felt bad about what he said. He didn't actually have anything to do. He just wanted to see Rin.

Ai looked at his phone. It was already nine o'clock. He decided it was best to get to sleep because he was going to be getting up early to catch the train. The blue eyed boy set an alarm on his phone for seven o'clock in the morning and crawled into bed.

* * *

Nitori was glad his parents were up before he left. He hugged each of them before saying his goodbyes and walking out the door. He was looking forward to his next visit, hoping that Rin wouldn't mind coming with him.

**To: Momo  
sorry that i won't be able to see you before i leave! be sure to drop by the store during summer!**

Nitori shoved his phone into his pocket and walked to the station. He purchased his ticket and sat down on one of the benches, waiting for the train to arrive.

After about ten minutes of waiting, his train pulled up. Nitori stood up and quickly boarded the train. He maneuvered his way to the back and took a seat, placing his bag beside him. The silver removed his phone from his pocket.

**To: Rin  
i'm leaving now but i know you're in class right now so if you're able to meet up sometime afterwards let me know **

**To: Nagisa  
i'm on my way home**

**From: Nagisa  
you'd better be ready to tell me why you like rin-chan so much because i honestly don't see anything in him. idk how you like him**

**To: Nagisa  
i said i'd tell you**

Nitori shut off his phone and placed it in his back. He leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes.

* * *

**i put momo in this chapter because i like the idea of momo and nitori being childhood friends :) (and i wanted him to appear in the fic and i had this idea which made his appearance earlier than i originally planned so yay).**

**(i also was going to actually say what was written on the headstone but i couldn't think of anything so)**

**this chapter is longer than the others because i want to get back to writing 2000+ words per chapter so i had to make up for the 1000+ word ones.**

**also this chapter doesn't really center around anyone because a lot is happening.**

**enjoy!**


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